Terms of Engagement
by SnarkySimaril
Summary: ABANDONED! Love sometimes hides, stuck behind cold hearts and lost dreams. But when it's found and recognized, there no going back. Peter found it, but keeping it is another thing entirely. Peter/Bella AU
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

**THIS STORY HAS BEEN ABANDONED. **

* * *

**Prologue**

I had given _a lot _of thought to how I would die. I wanted a dramatic death, a plane crash or maybe a heroin overdose. They both seemed suitably tragic yet mysterious. I had not imagined it would be like this.

I stared without breathing into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me. What an asshole.

Surely it was a good way to die, sacrificing myself in some half-baked plan to save someone I loved. Noble even, that ought to count for something.

I knew if I had never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing this lackluster demise now. But, as scared and disappointed as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the choices that had brought me here. I couldn't grieve the ending of this dream, as it had long ago surpassed my expectations.

The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.

He was _so_ going to regret this.


	2. Chapter 1: Don't Step In Pee

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 1 ~ Don't Step In The Pee**

**Jasper POV**

I had enjoyed the break that winter vacation offered from the raging hormonal lust of the sex-deprived teenagers that seemed to populate our school. Alice and I spent the time enjoying each other, as did the other mated pairs in our family. Edward, on the other hand, spent the break cooling off after another inappropriate — yet funny — gift from his admirer, Tanya. She was once again trying to persuade the virginal Edward to cash in his V card. This time she attempted to lure him with a copy of the Kama Sutra and a pair of her panties.

I was far from excited at the prospect of returning to school. I was prepared to join the ranks of drop-outs everywhere rather than go back there again. It wasn't as if it was necessary, but Alice assured me that I would want to be there for what was to come. She said that changes were in store for our family.

The school had been buzzing for days with news of a new student, Bella Swan, daughter of the police chief. The appearance of a new student would ordinarily go unnoticed by our family. She would be just another walking Happy Meal for us to restrain the urge to nosh on.

Or so we thought...

At first glance, she seemed a perfectly average human. The only thing that separated her from the sheep surrounding her was her propensity to trip over fresh air. While this amused Emmett, I was more concerned with the increased probability of flowing blood.

Ms. Swan became remotely interesting when she managed to rattle Edward's control enough to make him dash for the shelter of Denali. She must have really been something to force Edward into Tanya's company. He had spent the past few decades avoiding her due to her pesky habit of sneaking into his room. _Naked_. Turns out Ms. Swan was Edward's singer.

While I knew Alice and Esme would miss him, I enjoyed the privacy of my thoughts for a change. I knew he attempted to give us privacy, but there is only so much he could do. I enjoyed being able to plan my marital activities without him grimacing like he had just taken a mouthful of skunk blood. I could relate. He heard the thoughts of the family's couple time; I got to experience the emotions. I could actually _feel _Esme's lust spike when Carlisle walked through the door in his scrubs… Well _that_ is not something I relish.

He returned a week later, his resolve unwavering, determined to master his bloodlust. Personally, I thought his resolve was directed more toward breaking her mental silence than resisting her scent. Eternity is a long time and life gets dull. Unbeknownst to her, Bella Swan had just become the mental equivalent of a Rubik's Cube. If it kept him out of my head, well that was just a bonus.

We all watched in fascination over the following weeks as Edward continued to observe and subject himself to the torture that is Isabella Swan. He tried ignoring her, going for the silent enigma approach, but that failed epically when she showed absolutely no signs of interest in uncovering the mystery. He changed tactics, then. He attempted to speak to her. He told her that he wasn't a good friend for her. She agreed. He said she should stay away from him. She did.

Emmett dubbed the recent turn of events as The Great Ignorathon. Bella gleefully refused all of Edward's efforts at gaining her attention. At times, he would attempt ignoring her in return, but he was only let down as he discovered she wasn't as anxious to speak to him as he was her.

Apparently, he decided a grand gesture was in order, and being that he was wearing superman undies that morning, he decided to embrace his inner superhero. He dove across the parking lot in an effort to prevent her precious blood from spilling. He succeeded, but he also succeeded at incurring the wrath of Rose for nearly exposing us to a parking lot full of gawking teens.

After the near demise of Ms. Swan, their relationship began to look as welcoming as North and South Korea having peace talks. Emmett found the whole thing as humorous as I did. Having made an afternoon snack out of his own singer years ago, he was very much on the 'get it over with and eat her' side of things.

I believe we were all taken aback when we discovered he had begun to watch her sleep. Rosalie was sure he would slip and drain her, once again causing us all to have to relocate. Alice seemed quiet about the change in circumstances, not making any comments about Edward becoming a creeper. However, there was something knowing in her emotions. Whenever Edward was extolling the many virtues of Ms. Swan — as he saw them, anyway — she would radiate amusement. What she found so amusing was a mystery to me, as all my inquiries were met with "You'll see soon enough." I love Alice, I truly do, but when she pulls the secret squirrel act, I am as frustrated as the next clueless vampire.

The family and I were all spending the evening in at home, all except for Edward, who was spending yet another night observing the sleepy exploits of Ms. Swan. I was trying to teach my impulsive brother, Emmett, that chess was nothing like playing Xbox when my phone started playing 'Ice Ice Baby' by Vanilla Ice. The only person obnoxious enough to choose _that _as a ringtone was Peter, my _other _impulsive brother.

A few weeks ago, Alice had seen Peter and Charlotte preparing to visit the Denali coven. They had met Eleazar and Carmen many years ago, but they had yet to meet the succubae sisters. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Peter; those girls were going to eat him alive. My suspicions were confirmed by Alice's feelings of shock, then amusement, as the vision played out. Although, she wouldn't tell me what was in store for Peter when he got there. I hoped they would visit on their way south, but I had thought they would be in Denali a little longer. I guessed he must have reached his limit with the lusty sisters or Eleazar had politely asked him and Charlotte to leave as they were sick of the constant thrashing of the headboard.

I grabbed the phone and flipped it open, anything to cease that infernal racket.

"Hello," I drawled, bracing myself for the fuckery that was sure to commence.

"Jasper, how's it going, bro. How's life in Spoons treating ya? You enjoying high school, keeping up with your homework okay?" he teased.

"For the last time, Peter, it's called Forks," I corrected him. It was a never ending task. Every time we spoke he found some new way to butcher the town's name.

"Whatever. So how _are _things in Sporks?" He ignored my correction and continued on.

"The usual, other than Rose fixing to make Edward into her own personal jigsaw puzzle."

"What's Golden Boy done wrong now? Did he hide the princess's mirror?"

"No, he did something worse than fuck with her mirror. He nearly exposed us all trying to save his latest distraction from becoming roadkill. He went diving across a parking lot, snatched her out of the way of a skidding van, and then pretended he was a car-jack as he held the damn thing up to keep it from crushing her."

"You're kidding!" he exclaimed.

"Nope, and you've not heard the worst of it yet; she's also his singer. Rose was less than impressed at his technique."

"Wait. So Edward was saving her for later? Since when does he play with his food?"

"You haven't heard the best part. He's begun stalking her."

"Stalking? As in binoculars and a trench coat? The dude always seemed a bit creepy, but damn."

"More like stalking as in creeping into her room at night and watching her sleep. I'm thinking he sees her as a new plaything since he can't read her mind."

"Hold up, Eddie's new obsession is a mental mute?" He sounded highly amused.

"Yep, he thinks she's a combination of Mother Teresa and Princess Di. He's convinced she's in some way meant to be his, like his own personal brand of vampire catnip. Though judging from her emotions when she's around him, he's in for a bit of a shock. The girl does not radiate the warm fuzzies; in fact, she usually just feels irritation."

Peter bellowed laughter. I waited for him to calm before speaking again.

"So, what's going on with you anyway? How's Denali?" I asked.

"Umm, yeah. I was thinking about popping into Sporks for a visit, and now that I know there's some fun to be had with Eddie and his human, I'm there."

"What about Char?"

"I think she's going to stick around here for a while. She and Tanya have really hit it off."

"Really? Well that's nice. It'll be good for Charlotte to have some female company."

"Yeah, female company. Well, it turns out that Charlotte and Tanya are more like mates than friends."

"Wow! I didn't see that one coming." Judging by the grin on Alice's face, _she_ had. Emmett looked gobsmacked; he was staring at the phone, mouth agog. Shaking my head at him, I returned to the conversation with Peter.

"So, how do you feel about all this?" I asked.

"You know me, dude, easy come easy go. I always knew Char and I weren't forever, but I have to admit, I'm going to miss her. It wouldn't be so bad if they'd share the experience. I am an avid supporter of the lesbian arts; I have all their movies and magazines. They didn't agree with me helping out. The damn women caught me. You'd think being scentless would have kept it incognito." He sounded thoroughly perplexed that Charlotte and Tanya didn't want his 'assistance'.

"What happened then?" I prodded.

"Apparently, these pants have a loud zipper. I was only trying to support Char. I thought she may need some pointers. They both got a bit pissy. I guess that made now seem like a great time to come visit Sporks, letting the girls have some time to calm down."

"HOLY SHIT! Tanya and Charlotte?" Emmett seemed to have come out of his shock-induced catatonia.

"You're welcome here anytime, but your diet will need to change if you're going to be staying for any length of time. We have a treaty with the local shapeshifters. If you cross the boundary line we have established, they will attempt to turn you into dog chow."

"How am I supposed to know where their magic line is?" he huffed.

"If you smell a concentration of wet dog with a side of rotting garbage, you're on the line. Also, they have a habit of peeing to mark their territory. So the border of their land is starting to look like a moat. You step in a puddle of pee, you've found it. Just steer clear of the coast on your way in, and we'll show you the line when you get here."

"Right, steer clear of areas with a concentration of dog piss and don't munch on the locals. Anything else I need to know?" he asked.

"No, that about covers it. And, Peter, it's good to hear from you." I sincerely meant what I said. I missed my brother, crazy antics and all.

"Don't worry, big bro'. I'll be there when you get home from school tomorrow." The last thing I heard before he disconnected was him laughing at his own joke. Did I really miss him that much?

Closing my phone, I looked over to Alice, who once again had a knowing look on her face. Emmett was beaming with excitement over his newfound knowledge. I was sure he would be trying to plan a trip up to Denali soon to attempt to see some action between the two for himself. The others looked generally stunned, and Rosalie looked disgusted, but that was nothing new for her. I wondered what Edward would think of his former admirer finding love in a woman?

Like a giggling sprite, Alice came bouncing to my side. "I can't tell you why, but this is going to be so great!" She was vibrating with excitement as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

I held her in an embrace, kissing the top of her head tenderly as she continued to quiver with excitement. Even though I was incredibly curious as to what she meant, I knew asking would only leave me wondering, so I held quiet and enjoyed the moment, letting her warm emotions wrap around me.

* * *

**AN: The voices are arguing again. They can't decide what is the best song to have as a ringtone for Jasper on Peter's phone, what song would you choose? The best answer will get the next chapter dedicated to them. Please hurry before I have to mediate, that never ends well, just ask Clovis the chipmunk, he's still recovering from the last time I tried. **


	3. Chapter 2: Expect Nothing

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

**This chapter is dedicated to ****BrownEyedCynic for her song suggestion **_**Rhinestone Cowboy. **_

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Expect Nothing And You'll Never Be Disappointed**

**Bella POV**

Forks, Washington. Once described as _The Armpit Of Washington_ then, after a pointless and expensive press campaign, re-dubbed _The Logging Capital Of The World_. It was cold, wet, and now my home.

I stared out of the window of Charlie's cruiser, watching the passing scenery with a feeling of detachment. I knew living with Charlie was going to be an adjustment after years of living with Renee, and there was a certain degree of tension in the car, too. It had been years since I had last seen Charlie.

My last visit was when I was eleven, and it was cut short when Renee arrived weeks early to take me home.

She had, to use her own words, 'been lost without me'; more honestly put she had run out of clean clothes and couldn't understand why the TV wouldn't work. It probably never occurred to her that she spent more on gas to come retrieve me than it would have cost her to have the cable turned back on.

After a hurried explanation of maternal instinct and separation anxiety to an incredulous Charlie, she dragged me into the car and returned us home. There were no more visits to Forks after that summer, and my relationship with Charlie was restricted to Christmas and birthday cards and the occasional phone call. So now I found myself riding in a car with a man I barely knew.

The silence was broken by Charlie clearing his throat. Giving me a sidelong glance he asked, "How's Renee?"

I wondered if he knew how loaded a question he was asking. "She's fine," I replied, unsure if he really wanted an honest answer and hoping that would be enough.

It wasn't a lie. She had seemed fine this morning when I last saw her as I climbed into the back of the cab heading off to the airport. I had tried to call out a goodbye, but she didn't respond. She was too distracted by her morning ritual of preparing for sunrise Tai Chi at Camelback Mountain. I wondered how much time would pass before she noticed my absence. With no one there to prepare her vegan casserole or to swap the laundry, she surely would notice eventually.

Growing up with Renee as a parent was a lesson in survival. She was not unkind, but she was easily distracted, and little things like a young daughter were easily forgotten in the excitement of a new hobby or boyfriend. I had learned early on that if I wanted food in the fridge, I had to go buy it myself, and that if I didn't want the power or phone disconnected, I had to be the person that ensured the bills were paid. Her distractible nature was an endearing quality to most, phrases like 'she's a free spirit' were thrown around, but in reality she was a neglectful mess.

As we passed through what qualified as the town center, I stared out of the windows, looking for any sign of development in the familiar façade. I could see no tangible differences along Main Street from what I remembered in my childhood visits. Yet it was different. As a child Main Street had seemed a magical place, now it just looked dated. Maybe I was the only one that had changed. Maybe what I had remembered as magic was purely the freedom of being away from Renee, the chance to play as a child and leave the responsibility to the adults.

Shortly after passing through town, the scenery grew familiar, and the small white house of my childhood came into view. Although it had once seemed a place of magic, it now looked small, sad, and in need of a fresh coat of paint. We slowed as Charlie turned the cruiser into the drive, parking us beside an ancient red Chevy pickup that seemed to reside here as well. I didn't recall it from my previous visits, yet it seemed to blend in well with the dilapidated surroundings.

Getting out of the car, I noticed Charlie looking at me expectantly.

"So what do you think, Bells?" he asked, gesturing towards the ancient truck with the air of a game show host presenting the grand prize to a contestant.

It was sturdy looking, but that was about the only compliment I could come up with. Apparently, I had remained silent too long, as Charlie interrupted my internal struggle to find something positive to comment on.

"It's great, isn't it? I bought it from Billy. You remember Billy Black down at La Push?" he asked, stroking the faded hood.

"The one with the weird kid? Jeff, John... something like that?"

"Jacob. That's his son. He's grown into a great young man"

"Does he still have the hunchback?"

"No, he had PT for a few years and now he's as straight as an arrow."

"Well, that's nice. What about the crossed eyes?"

"He has contact lenses now."

"What abo—"

"The mole was removed years ago, and he grew out of his grabby phase, too. No more restraining orders for him, no sirree. Anyway, I bought the truck from Billy as a welcome home gift for you."

He looked exceptionally pleased with himself for this stellar purchase. Then the last of his sentence penetrated my musings 'bought it for you...'.

Oh crap.

"You bought _me_ a truck?" I tried to sound pleasantly surprised rather than show the horror I felt. This thing was huge! I was going to need a stepladder to get into the driver's seat. Not to mention the fact it was as old as dirt. This was _not _going to help me in my mission to remain invisible in Forks.

"Thank you," I all but stuttered as I tried for a smile. It ended up looking more like a grimace. I was touched that he had thought of me, Renee never had, but I wasn't sure what the next move was. Should I hug him? Shake his hand? Do a cheer?

Watching him, I could see he was struggling as well. His arm twitched as if it wanted to extend to me but stopped short of leaving his side.

"Well, I'm glad you like it. The keys are in the ignition. I'll let you go settle in," he said before taking one of my bags and leading me inside.

_Welcome to Forks, Bella. Home of trees and awkwardness, _my thoughts chimed as I followed behind him.

The next day, it became apparent my self-assigned mission to remain invisible in Forks was going to be impossible. The moment my truck sputtered to a stop in the parking lot, eyes followed me. Everywhere I went, whispered conversations were hushed at my approach.

My usual cold stare did nothing to deter the chipper sheep of Forks High from approaching me. One particularly determined girl managed to attach herself to my side like a barnacle. Seeming oblivious to my silence and pointed looks, she chattered away at me throughout fourth period and all the way to the lunch line.

Despite my supreme efforts, snatches of her ramblings seeped into my consciousness. Apparently, she was called Jessica. She was currently giving me the rundown on the students. Which included her pointing out the 'elusive Cullens' as she called them. I couldn't see why she had used such a reverent tone when she spoke of them. There didn't appear to be anything outstanding about them other than their clear need for some sunlight and vitamin D. She continued to prattle on about them as I gave them an appraising look.

The largest male reminded me of the man on the _Brawny Paper Towels_ packaging, only without the facial hair. He was built like a human tank, muscle upon muscle, but there was also something gentle in his face. Beside Mr. Brawny was a blonde girl. She would have been beautiful if it wasn't for the sneer on her face. She looked like she had just become the recipient of an unexpected enema.

Across the table sat another male, leaner than his brother but still muscular, with honey blond hair that curled past his ears. He looked very uncomfortable, as if he was in pain. Beside him sat a tiny girl with elfin features and cropped black hair. She was so tiny she probably got half-price admittance at the amusement parks. I was musing on the benefits of cheap admission versus being stuck riding the kiddie rides when the last member of their family joined them.

"That's Edward," said Jessica. By her tone you'd think she was introducing Justin Bieber.

He was tall and lean, younger-looking than his siblings, yet he too was in desperate need of a few sunshine hours. His hair was a unruly mess of bronze that made him look a lot like a Fraggle. Other than his resemblance to an 80s edutainment puppet, I couldn't see anything worthy of Jessica's reverent tone and current dazzled expression.

When I heard the bell ring for next period, I was overcome with relief, as it meant an escape from my human barnacle and her social commentary. I followed the mass of students out of the cafeteria and headed to the Biology classroom. Entering the room I was accosted by the teacher, Mr. Banner. He expounded on the now familiar greetings and hopes that I would enjoy my time in Forks, then he directed me to the only empty seat, which was beside Edward Cullen.

I was pondering his resemblance to the Red Fraggle as I found my seat, so I didn't immediately notice him change from his superior expression to one of such hatred it would have brought a lesser person to tears. Seeing as I had faced-off with a succession of Renee's ex boyfriends who were not at all amused to discover the 'free spirit' they met at was not as 'free' as she had led them to believe, I merely glared back.

The experience of being woken in the night by a manic Renee cranking her Tibetan Meditation Music so she could 'express herself' by getting buck wild on the prayer mat was always an interesting one. It was even more entertaining to interrupt them at the pivotal moment to ask the unwitting suitor if he was my new daddy. Sometimes that alone was enough to have the unfortunate man scampering out the door, zipping his pants as he went. Others seemed to think my presence was inhibiting Renee's ability to be 'true to herself', and many a face-off was instigated by my glare. The looks I had received from them served as excellent practice for times like these. Edward Cullen had no chance of rattling my cage with his pathetic stare. I braced myself for battle, thinking I had found a worthy opponent at last, but I was gravely disappointed. Cullen gave me one last glowering look then took to glaring at the desktop instead.

When the lesson ended, Edward Cullen tore from the room. Shrugging, I gathered my books and headed out the door. I directed my steps to the front office to hand in the signed slip from my teachers. I was surprised to find Cullen facing off with the elderly receptionist. From what I could gather, Edward was attempting to change his biology class for any other period.

He seemed to be intimidating poor Mrs. Cope while simultaneously trying to to seduce her. He would glower one moment and give her a smouldering look the next. I wasn't sure what he was hoping to achieve, but if he carried on much longer he was going to give the poor woman a heart attack. Or an orgasm. I couldn't decide which would be more disturbing to witness. Edward seemed to have the same idea, as he thanked her one last time and flounced out the door.

I handed in my slip and made my way out to the crap-mobile, as I had come to think of my truck. As I waited for the engine to warm I considered what I had just seen. Edward Cullen seemed to find my presence in biology exceptionally offensive, and as a result, he risked the cardiac health of an elderly woman to get out of the situation.

_Awesome, _I thought _One less person to avoid tomorrow._

The rest of the week passed quickly after that, aided by Edward Cullen's absence from from school. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last. He returned to school after a week and resumed his strong, silent routine. I would enter the Biology lab and he would glance at me once, as if he expected me to beg an audience with his supremely snobby self. I ignored him.

After a few days, he deigned to speak to me. I was already in a pissy mood, as some dude called Newton seemed to think I was a piece of land that needed to be claimed. I was expecting him to impale me with a flag any moment. I had resisted his efforts at courting with stoic refusal to meet his eye, but at lunch that day he had stepped up his game.

He came and sat beside me, placing his arm around my shoulder and informed me with the expression of someone imparting a great honour that his parents owned the local sporting goods store and he could fix me up with a job.

"Just think about it, Bella. We'd have a chance to get to know each other, and my parents pay a fair wage."

Restraining the urge to stab him with a fork, I politely informed him that I was not interested. I was not about to explain that I had been doing part-time jobs since I was old enough to lie about my age. Renee's inability to balance the checkbook meant that I had to learn at a young age how to work to meet my own needs.

I was enjoying the chance to be a normal teen for a change. Charlie's salary as police chief was not huge but he made enough to get by, and, as he gleefully informed me, now that I was living with him he did not need to send child support to Renee any longer. I was shocked to discover Renee had been receiving monthly checks from Charlie all along and I'd never seen a dime. I guess Tai Chi and basket-weaving classes ate it up.

So Mr. Cullen's timing for his benevolent greeting couldn't have been much worse.

"Hello," he greeted. "My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

I turned to look at him. He was watching me expectantly, as if I was supposed to be eternally grateful that he had pulled his head out of his ass long enough to speak to me. I cocked an eyebrow at him as I considered my words carefully.

"Actually, you did have a chance, you just didn't utilize it. And I already know your name; it's written on your textbooks," I said, pointing to the feminine script.

He seemed a little flabbergasted at my response. What was he expecting me to do, blush and stammer like a nitwit?

"Umm, no...I mean..."

Ha! Who's the stammering nitwit now, Cullen?

"You were off your meds last week. I understand." I looked at him, feigning sympathy, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to talk to you now. I've used up my goodwill for the day on that twit Newton,. I had the goodwill not to stab him in the eye with a fork, so I'm afraid you're all out of luck. Now if you don't mind, I'm listening to the lecture." With that I returned my attention to Mr. Banner, who was explaining today's lab on the reproductive cycle of a dung beetle.

The days following settled into a somewhat stable routine. I would wake up to the sounds of Charlie's morning ritual – less said about that the better – I would scarf down breakfast, take a running jump into the truck's cab, and head to school. Classes were boringly predictable, and I was able to coast though most subjects with little effort.

Edward had become somewhat of an annoyance. He vacillated between ignoring me completely, which I appreciated, to dropping what I imagine were supposed to be mysterious statements designed to make me curious about him; they failed to hit the mark.

The week after his return he greeted me in Biology with a crooked smile. It distracted me so thoroughly that I completely missed what he said next, as I was considering whether or not to mention his Botox had worn off on one side faster than the other, making his smile lopsided.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that I'm not a good friend for you Bella," he said with emphasis.

"Absolutely." I smiled. "Was there something else you wanted?"

"Um, no. That was all," he replied and I returned my attention to Mr. Banner and today's lesson.

The rest of the week passed slowly. Broken only by awkward stares from Edward and the continuous gossiping banter of Jessica Stanley.

Monday morning dawned with another dull sky and an added feeling of trepidation as I made my way to school. On Friday Jessica had been chattering away to one of her minions about the approaching Valentine's Day. In the past, I had relied on my frosty silence and pointed glares to deter potential suitors, but the males of Forks seemed to have some kind of immunity to my personality. No matter how many times I shrugged him off, Mike Newton bounced back each time like a floppy blond boomerang.

Walking into the halls, I saw that in true spirit of the day someone with far too much free time had decorated the hallways with pink and red paper hearts. Perfect. The hope this day would pass by quickly was fading with every horrible decoration I passed.

Opening my locker, I was confronted by a pile of cards that had been slipped through the slats of my locker door. Picking one up I examined it, Care Bears, really? Turning the card around I saw it was from none other than Mike Newton. Shaking my head I tossed the pile into my bag so I could dispose of them later.

Before the day could get any worse, I decided to cut my losses and did what any other self-respecting teen would do: faked a headache and went home. Scratch off one more day as I failed at being being invisible.

Crossing the lot to my truck I became so focused on leaving I managed to lose my footing along the smooth, seamless pavement, nearly landing myself on my ass, had it not been for the ever-interrupting Edward arresting my fall.

I regained my balance and turned to thank him.

"You really should stay away from me Bella," he said before I could even open my mouth.

I was stunned into silence. I had been staying away from him! He was the one that seemed to pop up at these inopportune moments. Before I could think of a suitably snarky reply, he stomped off in the opposite direction.

Watching his departure with incredulity, I wondered if insanity was a trait of all Forks students. Would I end up as bat-shit crazy as him if I stayed too long? Deciding to avoid the risk I climbed into my truck and headed home.

Days after my last encounter with Edward, I awoke to see that Mother Nature was having an off day. It seemed she decided that I needed an added challenge, making the day ahead extra fun.

There was a fine layer of snow covering the ground and the pavement was surely icy beneath the snowy covering. Oh joy. I stepped out the door and predictably my foot found the slipperiest patch, causing me to bounce down the steps on my butt like a damn slinky.

After I'd disentangled my limbs from the book bag that was attempting to choke me, I clambered to my feet, rubbing my now-aching butt, and climbed into the truck cab. I drove carefully to school, not wanting to add a fender bender to my list of activities for the day. Although, when I considered it, maybe an accidental confrontation with a tree would do enough damage to the crap-mobile to enable me to claim the insurance and get myself something with a little more power; a '69 Dodge Charger perhaps?

I was still considering the morals of totaling the truck for insurance fraud when I arrived in the school parking lot. I climbed out of the cab and was trying to decide the best point of impact to do the most damage when I noticed something shiny on my tires. Bending to take a closer look I realized someone had fitted snow chains for me, Charlie must have done it before he left for work. While touched by his concern I couldn't help but bemoan the fact he hadn't had the foresight to sand the porch steps too. My butt was really aching. I was pulled from my contemplations of my discomfort and the morality of insurance fraud by the sound of squealing tires.

I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once. Edward Cullen was standing next to his vertically-challenged sister with a look of horror on his face. Jessica Stanley had forgotten to remove her blackhead remover strip so she looked like she was recovering from a broken nose. And a navy blue van had taken the turn too fast and was skidding across the ice heading right for me _and _my truck.

I was about to leap to the side to give the out-of-control blue van a clear path to fulfill my insurance claim dreams, when a white blur slammed into my side and sent me tumbling to the ground.

_Shit._

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. FF is being a bitch so we haven't been able to respond to them but we read and loved them all. The song suggestions were great and now the voices and I have a new question for you…**

**Bella wanted to exchange the crap-mobile for a '69 Dodge Charger (Ahh The General); we want to know what car _you_ would choose for Ms. Swan? Best answer gets the next chapter dedicated to them. **


	4. Chapter 3: Don't Stick Shit Up our Nose

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

**This chapter is dedicated to Slcottin and her 1972 Mustang**

* * *

**Chapter 3 — Don't Stick Shit Up Your Nose**

**Jasper POV**

I was standing at the edge of the forest, waiting for Peter to arrive. Alice had got bored with my pacing, so she sent me out to wait for him. It was a little embarrassing to be sent out to play like a small child, but I was genuinely looking forward to seeing Peter again. It had been far too long, and I had missed his company.

Second only to Alice, I was closer to Peter than anyone. We had survived the hell of the Southern Wars together, and our experiences there had formed a kinship I didn't have with the Cullens. While Alice had given me a new life when I walked into that diner in Philadelphia, I would never have been in any state to join her if Peter had not saved me from myself first. When he and Charlotte escaped from Maria's army, I never imagined I would see them again. I was close to the edge when he returned for me. The joy of the fight had long since faded, and I had grown tired of existence.

I knew from her emotions that Maria was becoming more guarded around me, and I suspected she was preparing to dispatch with me as she had so many of her lieutenants before. With Peter gone, I'd lost the one friend I had, the only ally in the chaos of constant war. I was preparing myself for Maria's attack, and I was considering the option of allowing her to be the victor, to allow her to end my existence and the accompanying depression, when Peter returned for me.

He told me of the life that he and Charlotte enjoyed, the freedom and peace that could be found away from the fighting. I never imagined such a life was possible for my kind. I left Maria and the war behind without a backward glance, feeling hope for the first time.

The new life was not all I had hoped for, though.

Despite the fact I was away from the battle, and the constant influx of negative emotion, my own depression was not alleviated. I still struggled to find peace in my new life until I met Alice. Where Peter saved me from Maria and the constant cycle of war and vengeance, Alice saved me from myself. From her I learnt of the Cullens and their way of life. I was dubious but she was certain, but she was right in the end. The change in diet was a struggle, a struggle I still faced today, although my control had increased significantly. Having Alice at my side was the key; in Alice, I found my mate.

I had never witnessed the love between a mated couple before. In the war, Maria refused to have mates in our ranks. She said it made them weak. At the slightest hint that a couple were mated, they would be disposed of.

Peter and Charlotte were the closest thing to a mated couple I had seen, and yet they were not that closely bonded. They found pleasure in each other's company, both physically and as companions, but they had explained when I joined them in their new life that what they had was not mating. They had seen other mated couples in their travels before returning for me, and the way they described it, it was like two pieces of a puzzle joining together. When a vampire met their mate, it was as if the universe realigned and that person was became their world. The bond of mates superseded all else, even the call of blood.

I wondered how Peter was dealing with Charlotte and Tanya's mating. I knew it must have been hard for to him leave her behind in Denali. His joking aside, he had to be missing her company. They had been together for more than a century.

I was just thinking about hunting to pass time while I waited for him when I felt a spark of mischievousness from someone I couldn't see. Peter.

I stiffened and called out to him, but there was no response.

His lack of scent made him a pro a sneaking up on people, which is one of the reasons he had outlasted his newborn year in Maria's army. His usefulness as a spy, however, made him a nuisance as an opponent. Never one for standard greetings, he had a habit of pouncing on me when I least expected it.

The first time he visited after Alice and I joined the Cullens, he sprang from a tree and nearly got dismembered by a trigger-happy Emmett. I had been half-tempted to let Emmett remove a limb or two before intervening — it might quell his pesky habit of attacking people, but I feared more for Emmett's safety. Peter may be a nice guy but he was also a formidable fighter. He had needed to be to survive the Southern Wars.

Peter laughed off Emmett's apologies, and within a couple of minutes, they were chatting like they had known each other for years. That was the beginning of the unholy alliance of pranking. I was pleased Emmett took to Peter so well because Edward certainly didn't.

Although they were never openly hostile, there was a constant undercurrent of tension whenever Peter and Edward were in the same vicinity. Edward was initially perturbed to find he couldn't get a clear read on Peter's thoughts. He wasn't mentally mute like Ms. Swan**—**when he wanted to annoy Edward he was able to broadcast his thoughts loud and clear**—**but from what Edward said, he could only get snatches of what Peter was thinking at the time. This pleased Peter no end as he found Edward's gift to be intrusive, and he'd given Edward the moniker of 'Mind Fucker'.

"Come on fuc—" My words were cut off as Peter finally decided to make his appearance by jumping from the neighboring tree and sending me sprawling to the ground.

_And so it begins..._

**Peter POV**

Why Char had wanted to come to this frozen tundra was beyond me. I would much rather have just skipped over to Vegas for a few weeks, but the chance to visit with the succubi sisters was too tempting to miss.

Those girls must get bored of banging the blood bags. Personally, I couldn't see the attraction, especially since they had quit having them as a postcoital snack. They would appreciate a visit from a more durable male for once, and being the generous guy I was, i was only too happy to accommodate them. Besides, those girls would have some mad skills. Char might pick up a few new tricks.

However, I had a _feeling_ that there was more to our trip to Alaska than the possibility of some succubus sexscapades. My 'gift' — for want of a better word — had been sending me vague hints that whatever was next for us in this life, started there.

I gorged myself on wayward criminals on the journey north. I knew once we arrived in Denali, we would need to stick to the veggie diet. Eleazar was a pretty chilled guy, but even he would not be amused if we started munching on his neighbors.

We were greeted warmly by Eleazar and his mate Carmen when we arrived. He was just explaining the sisters were due home from a hunt any moment when we heard their footsteps and laughter as they approached.

I didn't need my gift to tell me something was afoot when the back door swung open and three beautiful females entered. I heard a soft, almost inaudible gasp from Charlotte and a soft "Oh" from the hottie with the strawberry blonde hair as they approached each other. It was as if everyone else in the room melted away. They only had eyes for each other. Charlotte reached up, and with great tenderness, she pushed a strand of hair behind Blondie's ear and whispered, "I'm Charlotte."

"Tanya," the hot blonde replied.

And that was it. I could see it in their eyes. They were mated.

I don't know what I was expecting to happen in Alaska, but this certainly wasn't it. Charlotte had found her mate, and I had lost my companion. I was truly happy for Charlotte. I loved her, and I wanted her to be happy, but at the same time, I mourned the loss. I would miss having her by my side.

Pushing the hurt aside, I focused on the positives as they walked out of the room together — maybe there would still be a place for me between the sheets. As they say, save a horse, ride a cowboy.

I quickly realized that staying in Denali with Charlotte was not going to work out. There were subtle clues at first, like the pointed questions about my plans for the future now Charlotte had found her mate — they came from Irina, the caustic bitch — and less subtle hints like the apoplectic Tanya screaming at me as she threw ornaments in my direction.

Women, all so emotional. I was merely preparing to offer my assistance to her and Char for their first coupling. Was it my fault that they misread the situation? Admittedly, being found lurking in the closet did not give the best impression, and having my hand in my pants also painted me in a bad light. I tried to explain that I had had an itch, but they didn't believe me. According to _them,_ vampires don't itch. Can I help it if I'm special?

Deciding to cut my losses, I packed up my shit and got out of there. It was a strange feeling being away from Charlotte, so I decided to drop in and see the only other person that I was really close to, my brother in fuckery, Jasper.

I called him and gave him the abridged version of the Char and Tanya story, omitting the hand-in-the-pants part. A man has to have some secrets. Besides, he would have way too much fun giving me shit for the 'itch' line. In turn, he filled me in on what was up with the Cullens, including the mind-fucker's latest endeavor as a stalker. Deciding that the opportunity to screw with Edward and his human obsession was too good to miss, I told him I'd be in town the next day.

He warned me that there was a risk of becoming a chew toy for a shapeshifter if I crossed the magical moat of pee or snacked on one of the residents of Forks. Tempting as it was to have a go at fighting a giant Chihuahua, I knew it would upset Dr. C and screw with his whole 'we are the world' fantasy if I messed with the treaty.

I knew if I was going to be staying in Forks for a while, I was going to have to get used to the veggie diet. My throat was beginning to burn, yet the idea of putting my mouth on something with fur was disgusting. As I travelled south through the dense forest, I continued to smell the air for anything that might be palatable, but so far it all smelled like various forms of shit.

The nearest town was small, and I wasn't sure if there was any hope of easily finding a suitable meal. After a quick search, I found a nearby bar on the outskirts of town. Stalking the area, I found what I was after, an older man who didn't appear to have bathed recently and was rubbing his unwanted paws all over the waitress who was trying to leave for the night.

Perfect. I want to treat myself to one last human and all I can find is a smelly drunk whose blood was well past its prime. Oh well, it was either this or sample the wildlife. I approached the felony in progress, and with a theatrical drunken slur, I called out, "Cletus, is that you, buddy?"

The would-be rapist turned to face me, and I wished he hadn't. He was so ugly he should have been exhibited in a circus. "Sorry, buddy, wrong number. I don't know any Cl—" The rest of his sentence was cut off as the waitress took advantage of her attacker's distraction and kneed him in the balls. As he doubled up on the ground clutching his groin, she made her escape, tottering away on shaking legs.

I waited patiently for 'Cletus' to recover himself before speaking. I put a lot of thought into these speeches, and despite the fact he wasn't going to live much longer, I wanted him coherent for the lesson.

He eventually clambered to his feet, and with what I guess was supposed to be a menacing leer, he faced me. "You just interrupted me and my girlfriend, buddy. That was very rude."

Oh goody, a talker. The lesson is always more fun when there is audience participation.

"I do apologize, but she didn't seem to be enjoying your private moment much. She left you here after all."

"That don't matter." He sneered. "I'll deal with you, then I'll go give her a lesson in respect." He swung his fist in my direction, but I ran to his other side before he could land the punch.

"Hey, where'd you go?" he asked.

This man was so stupid. I was doing the world a service eating him. He should never be allowed to procreate. The gene pool would never recover. He started again as I whipped around to face him. "How'd you do that?" he asked.

Deciding I had better get on with the lesson before his stupidity infected me, I stepped into the hazy light of the street lamp, allowing him to see my crimson eyes. He flinched away from my gaze.

"You are disrespectful to women," I informed him. "You take liberties with them without their permission. I don't like that."

"She was begg—" I decided I had heard enough, and with a quick flick of my wrist, I snapped his neck and ended his words. I pulled him deeper into the alley and fed.

After a quick swim to dispose of the body in a nearby lake, I continued my journey to Forks. The name alone was worthy of mockery. Forks. What possessed them to name it after a utensil is beyond me. They could at least have gone with something a bit more impressive like cleaver or steak-knife.

The trip had taken a bit longer than I had intended. From my best estimates, I would be arriving in the late afternoon rather than before Jasper got home from school. School. Picturing the feared Major posing as a high schooler just didn't sit right with me. It was something I would need to see to believe, then mock.

The air was crisp and cool as I moved through the outskirts of Forks. The sun would be setting soon, and I was anxious to see my brother again. I made sure to sample the air as I traveled, expecting at any moment to catch a whiff of wet dog or piss, but thankfully, I saw their house in the distance and not once did I step in a puddle.

Approaching the clearing of their yard, I could see Jasper was standing ready to greet me, a half-cocked smile on his face. I decided to have a little fun with him. He must have felt my emotions switch to mischievous, as he stiffened. "I know you're out there. Quit screwing around, Peter," he called.

He was becoming domesticated with his schoolboy life. The Major would never have let me get this close. I took to the treetops and approached him, trying to keep my emotions to a steady calm as I knew he would find that harder to detect.

I was positioned in the tree beside him, about thirty feet up, waiting for my moment, when he called out again.

"Come on fuc—" The rest of his sentence was cut off as I leaped onto his back, causing him to fall face first onto the ground.

He pushed me off of him and jumped to his feet, grinning all the while.

"You're getting slow, Major," I teased. "Spending all that time among the humans has turned you soft."

He growled low in his throat, and I chuckled. This was more like it. I dropped into a crouch, and he imitated me instinctively.

I was preparing for a good brawl when a motherly voice called out to us like we were misbehaving children, "Jasper! Is that how you treat a guest?"

I looked over to Jasper and watched as his expression changed. I knew he could feel my amusement at seeing him being scolded by his mommy, and he glared at me as I began tittering.

Brushing ourselves off, we both turned and faced Esme who was now beside us.

"Esme." I greeted her with a nod.

"Peter, it's so good to see you again. I am sorry to hear about Charlotte. You know you're always welcome here," Esme said. She really had this mother role down pat, but she was genuinely sweet.

We followed her across the yard and into the house, listening to her chatter all the way. "Carlisle is still at work, but he'll be home soon. Edward is umm... visiting a friend, so he probably won't be back till morning."

Jasper snorted at her comment. Esme turned and sent him a stern look, silently saying what I'm sure was 'shut the fuck up'.

Of course, Momma Cullen would think it's perfectly acceptable for 'Golden Boy' to be stalking some girl, anything to deter him from brooding.

I heard thundering footsteps, akin to a herd of rhinos on the second floor. Then Emmett was standing before us.

"Peter, dude! How are you?" He didn't give me a chance to respond before carrying on, "So, I hear Charlotte has hooked up with Tanya. You _have _to give me some details. How long were you there before Lil' Pete spoiled things?"

"First of all, Emmett, it's 'Big Pete' nothing little about him, and second, not far at all."

"Emmett McCarty Cullen, you are not being so crass as to ask Peter for details of Charlotte and Tanya's relationship, are you?" Esme may be a gentle-natured thing, but when she turned that glare on you it made you feel like a five year old getting caught with your hands down your pants.

"No, Esme," he replied flashing her a smile. How he could manage to look so darn innocent was beyond me. It must be the dimples, I mused.

"I knew you wouldn't be so foolish, and by the way, no, you can't take a quick trip to Denali this weekend." Emmett's face fell and Jasper chuckled. I guessed he was sensing an impressive amount of regret coming from Emmett's direction.

I heard the door shut and turned as I saw none other than Jasper's munchkin-sized mate, Alice. She came floating into the room, wearing her over-priced get-up as always. Some things never change.

"Peter," she greeted me with a nod.

"Shorty," I returned her greeting with a smart-ass grin, knowing full well it would set her off.

"So, I hear your _gift_," she snorted the word, "sent you to Denali and you ended up losing your partner because of it." We had always differed on the subject of our gifts. She maintained that she was far more powerful as she could search the future at will, whereas my gift was limited by what the fucking powers-that-be decided to send me.

"Be nice, Alice," Esme reprimanded.

I felt like I had stepped into the immortal version of the Brady Bunch. The Cullens were great, but I wondered if they realised how damn insane they all looked, repeating high school over and over, living among the humans yet not snacking on them. It seemed like a waste of a perfectly good eternity to me.

As if to complete the scene of insanity, Beauty Queen Barbie: Vampire Edition joined us and Dr. C's car pulled into the drive, the perfect scene of a small town doctor coming home to his wife and children. Well, most of his children, one of them was currently breaking and entering the home of a police chief to watch his daughter sleep. Oh yeah, this was the good life.

Carlisle came in the front door and shrugged off his coat. He was still in his scrubs. Esme kissed him chastely on the cheek, causing Jasper to wince. I wondered what was up with that. Had be become so domesticated he was offended by a peck on the cheek?

"Sorry I'm so late," he apologised.

"That's okay," said Esme "Alice said you had a last minute patient."

"I did. One of the Weber twins came in with a marble stuck up his nose. Apparently, his brother dared him to do it."

I had to make a supreme effort not to laugh. Here was a centuries-old vampire with a wealth of knowledge and resources and he spent his evening retrieving a marble from a child's nose. I understood his desire to help people and to give something back to the world, but a marble! Why did he not put his enhanced vampire mind to something productive, like research? Cancer, AIDS, even the damn flu was killing hundreds of thousands of humans, and yet, he thought he was doing good by plucking marbles from nostrils. He should have left it there. It'd teach the little brat a lesson: don't stick shit up your nose.

"Peter, it's good to see you again," Carlisle said as I shook his hand.

"You too, Doc," I replied. It was true. Although they were the most fucked-up coven of vampires I had ever come across, they were a good bunch of people, fun to be around, and there was no mistaking the genuine love they each felt for each other.

I waited for him to address me further, but I think he was taken aback by my glowing red eyes. Pussy.

"Umm, Peter," he began tentatively. "Did Jasper fill you in on the treaty we have with the La Push tribe?"

Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but I cut in. "Treaty? No I don't believe he mentioned anything about a treaty. I did come across the La Push tribe, though. I stopped in at the reservation on my way here and had a quick snack. I know how you prefer me to avoid hunting in Forks while I visit, so I thought I would stick to the reservation. That's okay, right?" I attempted to keep my features innocent, but judging by his look of horror and Alice's rolled eyes, I failed.

"Oh no!" he gasped, "We have broken the treaty. How much time do we have? How well did you hide the body? We're going to have to move. Esme, please call Edward back. It is not safe for him to..."

He trailed off as he realized that no one else was looking worried. In fact, at that moment, Jasper lost control of his own mirth and projected it out to the room causing everyone to laugh, Carlisle included.

"Jasper," he said through his chuckles. "This is not funny. By failing to update Peter on the treaty, you have placed us all in danger."

"Relax, Carlisle," he said. He must have got control of his gift again as the hilarity was replaced with a steady stream of calm. "Peter is just screwing with you. I told him about the treaty. He didn't hunt in La Push." He turned to me. "Peter, please reassure Carlisle that we aren't going to have to deal with a bunch of pissy natives."

"Sorry, Carlisle," I apologized, still grinning though. "The Major filled me in on the locals and the treaty. I hunted in a remote town outside British Columbia on the way south. I didn't go anywhere near La Push and their magical moat of pee."

"Magical moat of what?" He looked thoroughly confused, then shook his head, apparently deciding to do without the explanation. "Well, I am going to go change. Esme, would you care to join me?"

Jasper flinched again. What was up with that? Carlisle and Esme made their way up the stairs, and I joined Emmett and Jasper on the couch.

Emmett invited me to play a few games on the Xbox — I had a feeling he was going to wipe the floor with my ass. Unlike them, I had actually spent my time being a vampire, not a teenager. But when in Rome... I came here for a break, so I was ready to embrace some mindless entertainment, at least until the stalkerpire got home from his latest felony.

It didn't take me long to get sucked into the world of gaming. That shit was addictive. I'd been missing out. Before I knew it, the sky was lightening outside and Alice was bouncing into the room.

"Having fun?" she teased, leaning against the wall.

"Actually, I am," I replied. Emmett and I were still engaged in another round of combat.

"Oh, I just thought you might want to know that Edward will be home any minute," she trailed off as she turned to leave the room.

I tossed the controller to Emmett, who looked confused. "Eddie's coming home and I wanna play," I informed him. He grinned.

I heard the door latch click as it opened. I was tingling with anticipation. He was going to be serving as a perfect distraction to all the shit I was dealing with. A fucking vampire stalking a human, the jokes were endless.

I let him hear my thoughts clearly as he came inside. I loved playing with his mind. I let it wander to the images of Tanya and Charlotte together in bed the night I left.

He walked into the room, and I kept the outward appearance that I was behaving, although I continued on with my porntastic mental display. "Hi, Edward. How's it hanging?"

His face scrunched into a grimace, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was pained by the imagery. Over-sensitive fuck!

"Peter, would you please refrain from flooding my mind with your little fantasies?" he said sharply.

"Actually, Eddie boy, those are very _real _memories of Charlotte and her mate," I stated matter-of-factly, watching him as the reality set in.

His face changed from confusion, to anger, to... What was the hell was that look? Did someone shove a hot poker up his ass?

Deciding to take some pity on the sexually-challenged vampire, I changed the subject. "So, how's the human? Did you sample the goods or just stare at her drooling?"

Edward growled at my comment and, kicking the chair out of the way, he stormed off to his room.

"That was awesome, man. Way to piss off Emo-ward," Emmett cheered, giving me a congratulatory slap on the back.

I looked over and saw Jasper standing off to the side of the room, smirking at my little friendly display with Edward.

I knew coming here would be fun.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. The car ideas were great, we had a lot of fun checking out pictures online and it was a tough choice. The voices and I have a new question for you…**

**In this chapter Peter muses on Carlisle's choice of career, if you could choose what job would you have Carlisle doing? Personally we'd like to see him as a Calvin Klein underwear model but that's purely for visual entertainment. Best answer gets the next chapter dedicated to them. **


	5. Chapter 4: If You Can Convince Them

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended**

**This chapter is dedicated to peterskitten for her Carlisle career suggestion of Park Ranger and to Augustmoon99 for being our 100th reviewer. Thank you ladies. **

* * *

_Previously: …a navy blue van had taken the turn too fast and was skidding across the ice heading right for me and my truck._

_I was about to leap to the side to give the out-of-control blue van a clear path to fulfill my insurance claim dreams, when a white blur slammed into my side and sent me tumbling to the ground. Shit._

**Chapter 4 ****—**** If You Can't Convince Them, Confuse Them.**

**Bella POV**

My head hit the ground with a crack.

"Motherfucker!" I hissed. That was going to leave a mark.

There was a heavy weight pinning me down, and there was a hand on my left breast. Jacob? I thought he grew out of his grabby phase.

I waited to hear the sweet sound of the van turning the crap-mobile into scrap, but it didn't come. Instead, the van seemed to bypass the fender of my truck and come right at me. What the fuck?

I heard a muttered 'Oh bother' as two hands reached out and seemed to halt the van in its tracks, inches from my face.

I turned to see the face of my savior and cursed when I did. _Edward freaking Cullen_. I had no time to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, as apparently, the van wasn't finished with me yet. The rear wheels carried on spinning, and the van aimed for my legs. Cullen leaped to his feet and used his body to block the van as he swung me around — grabbing my ass in the process — so that my legs were out of the van's path.

When I looked up, it appeared as if he was holding the van in the air with one hand.

I must have hit my head harder than I thought.

Catching my gaze, he quickly dropped the van. It rocked as it hit the ground, and a low, muffled groan came from the direction of the driver's seat.

Cullen came to kneel by my side. "Bella, are you okay?" He sounded quite frantic. He should be. I was about to rip him a new one. He had ruined my plans to get rid of the crap-mobile, not to mention the groping he did in the process.

Before I could start, however, I noticed something on the side of the van. Where Cullen had used his buns of steel to stop the van from squashing me, he had left behind a perfect imprint of his ass. I had to admit, for a freaky Fraggle with personal boundary issues, he had a pretty nice looking backside.

The slow-witted students seemed to have snapped out of their shock-induced silence, and I could hear the clamor of voices calling for me and someone named Tyler. I guessed he must be the driver. Good to know. He was also on my shit-list for an ass-reaming. The dick nearly killed me.

"Bella, are you okay?" Cullen repeated, looking me over like he wanted to play doctor.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I demanded. "What possessed you to knock me down like that?"

"I saved your life," he said.

"No, you pushed me on the ground, copping a feel at the same time, I might add, and then did some freaky X-Men thing with the van. So, I ask again, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Bella, I think you're confused. You hit your head quite hard. All I did was pull you out of the way when the van came towards us."

"Whatever, Pinocchio," I responded. There was a crowd forming around both the van and my truck, and someone was trying to organize the moving of the van.

"Bella, I think you should sit down. You have a concussion. You just got my name wrong. I'm Edward. How many fingers am I holding up?" He waved three fingers in my face; apparently, he had watched a few too many episodes of Rescue 911 growing up.

"I do not have a concussion, you moron. I called you Pinocchio on account of the impressive fibs you were telling and the wood currently growing in your pants. I guess the groping wasn't accidental after all."

He looked mortified and quickly shrugged off his coat to hold in front of his growing erection.

I heard the single siren approach the school. Forks' one and only ambulance pulled into the lot, carrying with it the Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb of the paramedic department. I sighed, knowing it wouldn't be long before Charlie was here as well. I'm sure it would mean more awkward father/daughter moments.

After much commotion, and a suspected hernia for Coach Clapp, the van was pulled away from us and the paramedics were able to get through.

"Hi, Brett," Edward greeted Tweedle-Dee.

"Umm, hi..." Tweedle-Dee trailed off awkwardly, fumbling with his equipment.

"Edward, Edward Cullen, Carlisle's son," he said expectantly.

"Oh right, yeah, you're the gay one. Good to see you again."

Edward looked like he was sucking a wasp. "Actually. I'm not—" He started to speak, probably to profess his heterosexuality but Brett/Dee wasn't listening.

"So, what happened here then," the lumbering twiddle asked he bent down to assess the damage.

Edward seemed to decide it was more important to continue ruining my day rather than attempt to maintain his cover. "A van skidded on the ice. Luckily, I was here, and I was able to pull Bella out of the way, but she hit her head on the pavement. I'm worried she may have a concussion." Apparently he was now trying to seduce Brett, as he was doing the wide-eyed, smoldering thing again.

Brett gave Edward a dubious look but came to examine me anyway.

To hell with this!

"Actually, I am a little worried about Edward. He took a real hit when he pulled me out of the way. I think he may have cut himself." I grabbed the coat out of his unresisting hands to expose his woody problem. "Oh, apparently not," I said, eyeing his groin pointedly.

Brett took one look at Edward flying at full mast and decided we should both go to the hospital to be checked out.

I was attempting to explain to Tweedle-Dumb that I was quite capable of walking to the ambulance when I heard a familiar voice frantically calling my name. Charlie had arrived.

_Oh hell._

After Charlie had been reassured by Tweedle-Dee that I was not in immediate danger of dropping dead, Edward and I were bustled into the ambulance and ferried to the hospital.

I was put in a cubicle and a bleach blonde nurse informed me that someone would be right there. There was a scurry of movement, and the van driver, Tyler, was wheeled into the neighboring cubicle. He spotted me beside him and looked nervous. He should.

"Bella, I'm so sorry," he said.

"You should be. What were you thinking driving that fast on the ice?" I asked harshly. "You could have killed me!"

To be fair, it wasn't his fault I was in such a pissy mood, that was all due to Red Cullen, but as he had disappeared for the moment, anyone was fair game.

In fact, had Tyler fulfilled my insurance claim dreams and totaled the crap-mobile, I would have been giddy with glee, but thanks to Doucheward Cullen I now had a lump on my head, an undamaged truck, and Tyler was about to get his ass handed to him.

"It happened so fast," he said, sounding bemused. "I was running late and I guess I took the corner too fast and—"

I cut him off there by leaning forward and whipping the curtain out to separate us. Thankfully he shut up, and I went back to waiting for the doctor to come tell me what I already knew: I was fine.

Color me surprised when yet another freakishly pale man wearing a white coat came strolling in the room. Walking behind him was Edward Cullen.

"Isabella Swan?" the pale doctor asked. I nodded. "I'm Doctor Cullen. I believe you know my son, Edward."

"Is it take your son to work day?" I asked innocently.

"Well… no." He looked sheepish.

"Well then, would you mind if we finished this in private?"

"Of course," he said, turning to Edward "You can wait in my office, Son. I will be with you shortly."

Edward looked astounded, but Dr. Cullen looked at him intently; it was as if they were having a silent conversation. With a curt nod, Edward walked out of the room.

After a few questions and painful prodding of the lump on my head, Dr. Cullen was willing to release me into Charlie's care with instructions on what to watch for and some medication for the pain. Charlie looked overwhelmed as the doctor explained the simple instructions — from the look on Charlie's face you would think he was giving directions on do-it-yourself surgery.

As I walked out beside a panicked Charlie, I thought I should take some of the burden away. So I explained that I had suffered many injuries, including knocks to the head, in the past, and I was quite capable of taking care of myself. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed noticeably; the poor guy just wasn't cut out for this parenting thing.

I slept like crap that night. I spent most of the night tossing and turning with a pounding headache. Reaching over to retrieve the pills Dr. Cullen had given me, I thought back to what I had seen Edward do, or at least what I _thought _I'd seen him do.

I was fairly certain that I hadn't accidentally consumed any hallucinogenic drugs that day, but that left me with no reasonable explanation for seeing his perfectly-chiseled ass leave an imprint in the side of the van and how I'd thought I'd seen him lift it like it weighed no more than a feather.

Closing my eyes again, I gave up on thinking and accepted that maybe I was just going nuts. With that conclusion, I decided to remain quiet about what I saw. Mentioning _that _after a head injury was a good way to get sent back to the hospital.

Before leaving for work, Charlie poked his head into my room to check on me and tell me I could stay home if I wanted. I was tempted to skip, but I knew if I did the sheep of Forks High would find a way to create even more drama out of the previous day's events. So I sucked it up and prepared for what was sure to be a crappy day. I was right.

Car accidents had a way of drawing unwanted attention. Now couple that with the fact that Forks life was so dull people could often be seen watching paint dry, I became the topic of gossip. I spent much of the day dodging questions and refusing to give a blow-by-blow account. In true testament to exaggerated accounts, a dimwitted freshman asked me if I'd seen a white light. I told her I'd seen two. She was agog until I explained they were headlights, and I sent her scurrying away with a particularly fierce expression.

The only person that seemed as annoyed as I was by the attention the accident was gathering was Edward; each time someone asked for an account of events, he looked tense. I guessed he was worried I would expose him as the groper he was, that or I'd mention his woody problem.

The lunch table was abuzz with plans to visit First Beach in La Push the next day. I had been studiously ignoring the plans for the last week, but as it provided a distraction from the van crash gossip, I encouraged their planning. Apparently, I did too good of a job, as I found myself agreeing to go and, better yet, I had agreed to car-pool with Mike Newton.

_I knew I should have stayed home today._

The car ride to La Push with Mike proved to be a test of endurance. Edward may have been a groper, but Mike's constant sexual innuendos were trying my patience. In fact, by the time we settled around the driftwood fire, I was so annoyed I was considering 'accidentally' knocking him into it. With the amount of product in his hair, he'd go up like a Roman Candle.

I attempted to tune Mike's voice out and stared at the flickering flames. After a while, I was pulled from my thoughts by the arrival of a group of local teens. One of them spotted me and smiled. I didn't recognize him but he seemed to know me.

"Bella," he called. I looked at him blankly. "It's me Jacob, Jacob Black."

Without the mole and hunchback, I didn't recognize him. Charlie was right, PT had done wonders. I instinctively crossed my hands over my chest. Despite Charlie's reassurances, I had been the victim of Mr. Grabby far too many times to risk it again.

He saw my defensive posture and laughed. "It's okay. I don't do that anymore. I had therapy; apparently, my inappropriate touching was a consequence of my mother's death and my need for a female role model."

What the fuck!

"No restraining orders for two years now," he announced like he was declaring himself clean and sober at an AA meeting. The scene of insanity was enhanced by two of his friends cheering and patting him on the back.

He may be reformed, but I was keeping my hands where they were for now. He came and sat beside me on the log. Mike shot him a dirty look, but Jacob seemed oblivious. I got the impression that there was a lot that Jacob was oblivious to in life.

"First Cullen, now this kid," Mike muttered grimly.

The larger of Jacob's friends spoke up sharply. "The Cullens don't come here."

_Okay then, cryptic and weird. Maybe crazy is contagious._

However, it made me think. If the Cullens didn't come to La Push, maybe I had found a way to avoid Red Fraggle after all. I wondered if Charlie would let me transfer to the reservation school.

Mike got up and starting kicking at the sand, walking towards the water. Jacob's pack of friends followed after him with a ball, tossing it to him, only to have it smack him on the nose. Like a crying baby, Newton stormed off to his car to tend to his injury, while Jacob's friends continued to play catch — although they didn't catch that well, so it seemed more like fetch.

Jacob took advantage of our solitude and shifted a little closer to me on the log. I compensated by shifting further away.

"Do you want to hear a scary story?" he asked.

"Not really," I said. Apparently his oblivious gene was kicking in again as he carried on talking anyway.

"Did you know the Quileutes are supposedly descended from wolves?" he said, lowering his voice in attempt to sound serious. Unfortunately, puberty was not his friend, and his voice broke, making him sound like a donkey hee-haw-ing. I stifled my laugh and settled in for a long, boring speech. I was not disappointed.

He droned on about the history of the tribe, something to do with their habit of tying canoes to trees and a bunch of people who seemed to think they were werewolves and The Cold Ones. _Who wasn't cold?_ I thought. We were sitting on a Washington beach in March.

"...and that's why the Cullens don't come here," he finished.

_Huh?_

"Wait, why don't the Cullens come here anymore?" I asked, shaking off the stupor.

"Because, like I told you, they're Cold Ones," he said, shaking his head like he was disappointed in my listening skills.

"Yeah, right, Cold Ones, and they are what again?"

"Bloodsuckers, Bella. Haven't you been listening at all?"

Bloodsuckers, Cold Ones, the words bounced through my mind for a moment trying to connect to the Cullens. The memories of their pale skin and golden eyes, Edward's ridiculous speed and strength all came to mind. Wait, was he saying that the Cullens were vampires?

"The Cullens are Vampires?" I asked, needing some clarification as my imagination bordered on crazy at times.

"Exactly, that's the legend anyways, that they sustain themselves on animals rather than people, but it's just a story. So did I scare you?" he asked, flashing a cheesy grin and sliding closer to me again.

"No," I said as I shifted away, watching the waves crest and break on the rocks.

As I stared out at the ocean, occasionally shifting a little further along the log as Jacob slid closer, I realized two things: one, Jacob Black would someday be a stalker, and two, the La Push boys could play fetch better than any dog.

I didn't sleep well that night. I spent it tossing and turning, tangling myself in the sheets. I heard the muffled bangs as Charlie prepared to leave for his fishing trip with Billy Black; he had been planning it all week. I waited until I heard the cruiser leave before I got up. The last thing I wanted was to be invited to go along as I had no intentions of returning to La push anytime soon.

The memories of yesterday's beach trip were still fresh in my mind. I worried that going there again I would be confronted with more insane legends, maybe this time claiming the La Push residents turned into Gremlins so you should avoid getting them wet after midnight.

I found my thoughts once again returning to the thing that had kept me awake and wondering all night, could Jacob been telling the truth? Could the Cullens really be vampires?

Vampires or not, I was pissed. Not only did Edward go out of his way to annoy me at school, but now his 'mysterious secrets' were keeping me awake as well.

The strange thing was that the more I thought about Jacob's claims, the more possible they seemed. Apparently, I had succumbed to the Forks insanity epidemic already.

I decided to do some research on the Internet before I booked myself into the loony bin. I booted up my computer and typed in _Vampires_. There were a lot of hits: Goth make-up lines, role play groups, a series of movies about a teen vampire and even a site dedicated to fan fiction based on the movies. Honestly, didn't people have anything better to do with their time!

Realizing the insanity of my actions, I pulled the power cord and stomped down the stairs. I needed to get out of the house. I grabbed my coat and made my way along the nearby forest trail. It felt better to be out of the house. The fresh air and peace made me relax a little.

I came upon a large moss-covered boulder beside the trail and, feeling tired from the walk, I took the opportunity to sit and rest, enjoying the peace away from the world.

As I sat there on the cold rock, feeling the damp moss soak through my pants, I thought back to the things Jacob had told me about the Cold Ones and each of the traits he said the Cold Ones possessed: strength, speed, and cold, hard skin.

Strength: I thought I had seen Edward holding up the van, that could be a result of the bump on the head. Speed: he had been on the other side of the parking lot one moment and then he was tackling me to the ground. Cold skin: when he had been groping me I had noticed he was pretty frickin' cold, but this was Forks after all, you ran the risk of developing hypothermia every time you stepped out of your front door. Hard Skin: his ass left an imprint in the van, I was certain I hadn't imagined that! My imagination would never have been so complimentary; I'd have given him a fat ass.

The clues certainly seemed to add up to vampire but I was loath to admit it. My subconscious spoke up at that moment, _Does it matter?_

That was a good point. If he was a vampire, what difference did it make? None. He would still be the annoying ass he always had been. So what if he was a squirrel-sucking freak? It's not like I could do anything about it. If I shared my suspicions with anyone, I would be locked up in the nut house within the week.

Monday at school was better... and worse.

It was better because Mike was still upset about the beach trip, so he ignored me most of the day. Result!

And worse because of Edward Cullen. After my epiphany that, regardless of his species, he was still an annoying ass, I decided to put more effort into ignoring him. I failed.

When I arrived at school, I found him standing beside his Volvo with his siblings. He seemed to be having an argument with the blonde Barbie. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but both were gesturing wildly, and Blondie looked like she was giving him a serious verbal ass-kicking. He shook her off and started walking toward me.

Fuck that. I was not going to talk to the uber-freak today, so I hightailed it out of there to the one place he could not follow, the girl's bathroom.

I spent the rest of the morning scanning the halls for him. I caught sight of his Fraggle hair a few times, yet I managed to evade him — by lunchtime I was feeling quite smug.

I entered the cafeteria with Jessica beside me, something I wasn't particularly thrilled about, but I tolerated as Edward wouldn't purposely expose himself to her chatter no matter how much he wanted to approach me. It nearly worked, though I had been so focused on ignoring Jessica's chatter that I didn't notice what she was saying until she elbowed me in the ribs.

"What!" I demanded, rubbing my side.

"I said, Edward Cullen is staring at you again. I wonder why he's sitting alone today."

My head snapped up. I followed her gaze to see Edward staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. Once he'd caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. What the fuck!

"Does he mean you?" Jessica asked.

"No," I said with a smile, "he is definitely making eye contact with you. I wonder what he wants."

Jessica looked gobsmacked then marshaled her expression into what I guessed was supposed to be a seductive pout. It made her look like a demented goldfish.

"Well, I knew it was only a matter of time before he came to his senses." She inched her skirt up a little higher — it now resembled a tutu — and strutted over to join him.

Edward sat frozen, a look of abject horror on his face. I chuckled and made my way to the usual table.

I spent the rest of the lunch period attempting to stem the hysterical laughter that Edward's predicament induced. Jessica seemed oblivious to his discomfort and prattled on about her favorite restaurant and movies she'd like to see. She was clearly angling for a date, but judging by the look on Edward's face, she had more chance of joining Mensa than getting asked out by him.

His siblings made no attempt to quell their laughter. Mr. Brawny was positively roaring with glee. This drew a lot of attention from the other students who were used to seeing the Cullens sit silently through lunch, staring at the opposing wall.

As the bell rang for the next period, Edward jumped from his seat as if electrocuted and dashed for the exit. Jessica looked a little perturbed but soon shrugged it off, after all there was only so much room for contemplation in that tiny mind of hers.

The rest of the day passed quickly enough, and I was feeling exceptionally smug about my success in avoiding Red Fraggle, until I stepped into the rainy parking lot and saw a familiar figure standing by my truck. I considered walking home rather than face him, but it was raining hard and I was fed up with rearranging my life to avoid him. Squaring my shoulders, I walked over to my truck and faced him with what I hoped was a menacing look.

"Bella, I know you must be frustrated that I haven't explained myself fully about the accident last week—"

"Not really," I interrupted.

"But I need you to listen to me**,**" he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "You need to stay out of the forest."

"Huh?" I lost the menacing look at that moment, as I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Why the hell does he care if I was in the woods? "Why would I need to stay out of the woods?"

"They aren't safe at the moment," he said emphatically. He had evidently taken his usual level of crazy up a step.

"Okay," I said slowly in a tone you would use for the mentally challenged. "I'll stay out of the woods. Anything else?"

"No, that's all," he said, sounding relieved.

"Right then," I said as I climbed into my truck. "I'll stay out of the woods, you stay out of my way."

I gunned the engine so I couldn't hear his response, but as I pulled out of the parking space I thought I heard a roar of laughter from Mr. Brawny Towels.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone that gave us Carlisle career suggestions, they were all great and it was a tough choice to pick a favorite. Of course we have a new question for you...**

**Jessica was angling for a dinner and movie date from Edward, we think she lacks imagination. If you could arrange a date for the demented twosome what would it be? Clovis is keen on the idea of sending them paint-balling with REAL guns but that's just him. **

**Chapter 5 - You Never Get a Second Chance...**

**Peter POV**

I was sitting on a boulder with Emmett. He had just finished his hunt, and the air still stank with the musky odor of the deer he had drained. He was trying to persuade me to have a go at it. I knew Carlisle had spoken with him before we left, as he was getting anxious about my control. I hadn't hunted since good ole Cletus, and my throat was beginning to burn, but it was not yet bad enough to force me to suck on the wildlife.

My mind wandered to Edward and his little human toy. I bet she would be tastier than this, but seeing as Jasper is his 'brother', I suppose snacking on the goods is a no-no. It would be fun to see her though, to see what made this little human so special to garner such attention. I never imagined Edward being attracted to anyone, especially not a woman.

"You gonna hunt or what?" Emmett said, playfully punching me on the arm.

"You worried Daddy's going to give you shit when you get home?" I teased. "Naughty Emmett didn't get the big, bad, human-drinker to hunt."

"You know it's not like that," he said awkwardly. "Carlisle just worries is all. Edward is stressing about his human, so he's giving him a hard time about it."

"See, if you all weren't such freaks, you'd understand," I explained. "I hunted on a human recently. It's much easier to resist if you have just had a swig of the good stuff." I wasn't going to admit the fact I had just been contemplating snacking on Edward's human.

"Okay, fine. If you aren't going to hunt, can we head back? My Rosie will be missing me. I have husbandly duties to attend to." He leered.

"Too much information, dude!" I groaned as I got to my feet.

"You're just jealous." He laughed and shot off into the forest.

That was true, I _was_ jealous. I was missing Charlotte, not just physically but her companionship, too. Emmett was a great guy, and he was fun to hang with, but he had the same weird innocence as the rest of the Cullens.

The whole family, with the possible exception of Jasper, was ignorant of the _real_ vampire world. And even Jasper was becoming domesticated. They went to school and took hunting trips and probably even had game night once a week, just like a human family.

I had known when I came to Forks that it was going to be an adjustment. Charlotte had shared my past. She knew the things I had done in Maria's name, because she had done them, too. The only person I had left from that life was Jasper, and I couldn't burden him. I wondered if I would ever find someone who could understand me and my fucked-up life.

Emmett raced me back to the house. As we came into the yard, I could hear the distinct grunts and moans of the mated pairs enjoying each other's company. I looked to Emmett, who grinned and took off inside to find his girl.

Fuck that. I was already feeling adrift without Charlotte; the last thing I needed was to listen to a soundtrack of fucking. I turned heel and headed out towards the town. Maybe there would be some fun to be had with the locals.

It turned out there wasn't.

The town was small, dated, and boring. There wasn't even a good bar to hang in and watch the drunks. I wandered around the streets, thankful that the setting sun was shielded by the overcast sky so I could move about in the open without looking like a walking disco ball. Though I still needed to wear sunglasses to conceal my crimson eyes.

As I passed the library, I caught a faint scent of Edward lingering in the air. It couldn't have come at a better time. This was exactly what I needed: a distraction.

The trail led into the treeline following the edge of the road. Had he been racing the traffic? Nothing would surprise me with him. It split off from the road and led deeper into the forest. As I followed it, I noticed another faint scent mixed in with his. A sweet combination of honey and vanilla; it reminded me of home.

The opportunity to screw with Edward forgotten, I followed the honey and vanilla until I found a strong concentration of it on a moss-covered boulder. I leaned down, inhaling deeply. I could nearly taste the sweet smell, and it awoke something in me. It was almost a physical reaction. Something about this scent filled me in a way nothing ever had before.

I tracked the scent along an overgrown path. Although it had rained recently, I was determined not to lose it. The trees opened up, and I found myself looking at the back of a small, white house. I stood for a moment and listened, waiting to hear who may live there. I heard the front door open and a man's voice call out, "Bells, you home?"

"No, I'm out enjoying the thrilling nightlife in Forks," a soft female voice muttered. Then more loudly she called, "I'm upstairs."

I chuckled at her clear agitation. Whoever this girl was, she was bitchy. Thank God I didn't have to deal with her.

I decided to watch the house from the treeline, curious as to whether this girl was the owner of the scent, or if it was someone else living there. I hoped to whatever God there was that it wasn't the dude. I couldn't very well go around huffing him to get a fix.

The sky darkened, the lights flipped off downstairs, and shortly after the distinct sounds of a man's snores could be heard.

I was about to approach when I saw a familiar shape dart out of the trees and disappear around the side. Edward. I had all but forgotten about him since the discovery of the new scent.

I moved around to the front of the house and saw him sliding stealthily through the window. This girl must be his latest obsession.

I walked closer and heard a faint heartbeat flutter faster as if panicked. It was coming from upstairs where the girl was. I found myself feeling panicked as well. I didn't know her but I needed to protect her. What the fuck was wrong with me?

I could hear her moving around in her bed. It was then I realized she was sleeping.

"...stop groping me you freakish Fraggle!... no... I won't kill the bunny!" she mumbled.

What the fuck? This girl had issues.

I scaled the tree before jumping across to the window. Looking in, I could see Edward standing in the corner with a full-on salute happening in his pants.

Seeing me, he walked in front of the window, greeting me with a solid 'what the fuck' face. I chuckled at his attempt at being intimidating; his dick was practically poking me in the eye. Does he have no personal space boundaries?

"Edward," I said, cocking an eyebrow as I nodded towards his little problem. "Do you mind getting that out of my face?"

He glanced down and saw what I was referring to and gasped, lurching away from me and cupping his groin as if he thought I was going to make a grab for it. He wished.

My attention was pulled from him and his little problem by a soft sigh from the figure on the bed.

I stared at her, entranced. She was the most magnificent creature I had ever seen. Her hair was a beautiful shade of chestnut and her skin was a perfect shade of ivory with a rosy hint of blush on her cheeks. Despite the fact her hair was a tangled mess and her forehead had a sheen of sweat from her earlier anxiety, it did not detract from her beauty. She was stunning.

She seemed to eclipse all else. A typhoon could have blown through the room, and I wouldn't have noticed. My breathing had slowed to match hers, and I was sure if my heart still beat, it would have done the same.

Mating had been described to me many times, but I never imagined how intense it would be when it happened.

I knew in that moment that I belonged to her, and I was thoroughly fucked because of it.

I was pulled from my stupor by a hiss from the corner of the room. Edward must have heard my thoughts, and he wasn't happy. Tough shit.

I dropped into a crouch, and he did the same. I moved between him and the sleeping beauty resting on the bed. I watched him hesitantly move a step back. He couldn't really think he had a chance of besting me. I was a _real _vampire with years of fighting experience. He was a squirrel-sucking moron with years of high school experience. I grinned evilly and allowed him to hear my thoughts. I was going to end him.

Just then, the figure on the bed rolled over and sighed again. It was like being doused with ice water. My attention snapped to her. Fuck, I couldn't fight the pussy boy here, humans were ridiculously fragile. I'd know, after all, I'd killed so many. I _had_ to get him away from her.

I was preparing to tackle him out of the window when someone grabbed me from behind. My arms were pinned back, and I looked up to see Emmett holding Edward in the same position.

"Major," I hissed.

"Not here," he replied curtly. "Alice saw what would happen. We came as fast as we could, but you need to come outside now. If you fight him here, Bella will get hurt."

The thought made me freeze. I could not allow her to be hurt.

Sensing my acceptance, Jasper loosened his hold on me, but Emmett did not do the same to Edward. If anything, he seemed to be holding him tighter.

"Outside, Edward," Jasper growled. Emmett pulled Edward along and shoved him outside, never letting go of his arm. Now it was just Jasper and I in the room. I was fighting back the low growl that was building in my throat. I knew Jasper wouldn't hurt her, but I didn't want anyone this close to my girl.

Raising his hands, he stepped away from me. "Peter, let's go back to the house and talk. Bella will be fine here. Edward will be with us."

I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I couldn't introduce myself to her like this. She would probably tell me to fuck off. Going against my instincts, I slid out of the window and, with Jasper running behind me, I headed back to the Cullen house.

Halfway back, we caught up with Emmett and Edward. Ordinarily, Edward was the fastest, and he would have been back long before us, but he was currently being carried under Emmett's arm like a football.

"No, Emmett, you don't understand," Edward spluttered. "We need to go back. Didn't you see his face? He wanted her blood." He struggled again, trying to free himself, but Emmett was insanely strong.

That stupid fuck thought I wanted her blood?

"I think you misunderstood the situation, Eddie," Emmett said conversationally. "I saw his face, and that was not the face of someone with snacking on their mind. I think Peter just met his mate."

"When?" Edward asked stupidly. "We were only at Bella's and... NO!"

"Yep," Emmett cheerfully replied.

"But he can't! She's mine!"

I growled. Jasper gripped my arm, and I felt myself calm. I wanted to protest, but he was pumping me full of his shiny-happy-people mojo.

Emmett sped up his pace, either to get Edward out of my range in case I blew, or because he was as sick of listening to him as I was.

When we reached the house, Esme and Carlisle were standing on the porch. Alice must have warned them of our return.

"Emmett! What are you doing? Put your brother down." Esme scolded when she caught sight of us.

"I will if he promises to calm down," Emmett said. Edward struggled against him but did not speak.

"Edward, Son, what is the matter?" Carlisle asked.

It seemed Edward was too wound up to answer, so Emmett intervened. "Peter just found his mate." He released Edward, who landed on the floor in an undignified heap.

There were various reactions to his announcement. Esme jumped from Carlisle's side and embraced me in a motherly hug, whispering her congratulations. Rosalie huffed, clearly annoyed as she took in the scene and went back to examining her manicure.

Carlisle stepped forward looking pleased but perplexed as he shook my hand. "That's wonderful news," he said, "but it doesn't explain what is wrong with Edward."

"He _thinks _that he has mated with _my _Bella!" Edward announced, as if he was telling them I massacred the townsfolk.

There was a moment of silence as they processed the news.

"Well, that is unusual," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "I have never heard of two vampires mating with the same person."

"SEE!" Edward turned on me. "She can't be your mate. Carlisle said so."

I rolled my eyes. This boy was so darn stupid.

"He said he'd never heard of two vampires mating with the same person," I corrected. "That is true. She is _my _mate. Not yours."

"But... she... you... NO!" He spluttered. "This is wrong. Alice, tell him she's mine."

Alice looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Edward. I can't get a clear read on Bella's future at the moment. There are too many decisions to be made. But I can see _your _future, and Bella is not a part of it.

"Edward, I know you have felt drawn to Bella since you returned from Denali, but what makes you think she is your mate?" Carlisle asked.

"She is fascinating. She keeps me guessing, and I'm constantly thinking about her," he replied.

"But she's a person, Eddie," Emmett said. "Not a sudoku puzzle. What is it about her as a _person _that attracts you?"

Edward looked completely at a loss. "I don't know. I have not been able to get to know her. We haven't been on the best of terms. I fear I did too good a job of distancing myself for her safety."

Jasper rolled his eyes but, surprisingly, it was Rosalie that spoke up.

"You have not been on the 'best of terms' as you put it because she can't stand you, Edward," she said bluntly. "I don't like her, but even _I _took the time to actually observe her reactions; she has gone out of her way to avoid you. Didn't you notice the number of times she ducked into the bathroom when you were near? She even sent Jessica Stanley over to sit with you at lunch rather than join you."

"Of course not," he said stubbornly. "How am I to know how many bathroom breaks are normal for a human, and the lunch incident was just a misunderstanding. She was just being a good friend to Jessica."

"Oh for the love of..." Jasper trailed off then seemed to steel himself. "Edward, she is not interested. She radiates irritation whenever you are near. As for being a good friend, the only person that Bella likes less than you is Jessica Stanley. You should be thankful she doesn't know you've been creeping into her room at night as she would have taken her father's gun to your ass."

I watched his face change expressions. He looked like a baby who has had his candy stolen. I half expected him to cry and start sucking his thumb. Esme moved to his side and rubbed his back, attempting to comfort him.

This was taking too fucking long. I was getting impatient. I wanted to get back to Bella and his annoying histrionics were wearing thin.

"Is this settled then?" I asked. "Can I get back to _my _Bella now?"

"Actually Peter—" Carlisle began, but I had reached my limit.

"Now what?" I growled. "Do we need to stand around and coddle the Golden Boy a bit longer?"

"No," he said calmly. "I was going to say you will need to hunt before you see Bella."

"Oh, sorry," I said, a little embarrassed at my outburst. "Thanks for the concern, Dr. C, but I am in complete control of my thirst. Bella doesn't smell appetizing to me at all. Her scent is wonderful but it doesn't incite bloodlust."

"That's good, but there is the issue of eye color. If Bella should happen to wake while you're there, she will surely be alarmed by your red eyes."

Shit. I hadn't thought of that. I guess it's time to embrace my inner pussypire and go drain some wildlife.

Fuck my life.

"How about now?" I asked as I dropped the carcass of the deer I had drained to the ground.

"Hmm." Alice gave me an appraising look. "No, they're still orange. They clash with your hair."

"For fuck's sake, Alice. I didn't ask you for style advice. I wanted to know whether my eyes had changed enough for me to introduce myself to my mate without scaring the shit out of her."

"You asked for my help," she huffed.

"Can't you just use your gift and tell me how many more deer I have to suck down?"

"I could, but where would be the fun in that?" she said with an angelic smile.

I was close to my limit. If it wasn't for the fact Jasper was my brother, I would have launched her into a lake hours ago. I had drained so many deer they were in danger of extinction.

"Okay, calm down," she said, noticing my furious expression. Her eyes glazed over for a minute, yet another reason my gift was better — when I got the info I didn't glaze over and look like a complete 'tard. At least I don't think I do.

She snapped out of window-licker mode and smiled. "Just six more and you'll be good to go."

Six more! I already felt like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man I was so damn full. The thought of sucking down another six made me want to cry.

_This is for Bella, _I reminded myself. _All for my Bella. _

"That's much better," Alice said as I dropped the sixth carcass to the ground. "Although why you didn't just wear contacts is beyond me."

I growled and chased her back through the woods to the house. Her laughter tinkling in my ears all the way.

I had spent so long hunting that it was dawn by the time we got back. I wanted to get to my Bella straight away, but Jasper advised me to wait. We concocted a plan for me to drive him and Alice to school, and we would introduce me as his visiting cousin.

I was pacing the floor like a caged animal as I waited for Jasper. I'm sure he was counting the minutes to get rid of me as my emotions were everywhere.

Finally, it was time to leave, and I obliterated the speed limits as I drove. I trusted Alice to keep an eye out for traffic cops, but as this was Forks, I doubted there would be any around. It was still early after all. They were probably on their donut run.

We pulled into the parking lot beside Rosalie's red bitch-mobile. Emmett was grinning like a fool as Rosalie gave him a disgusted look and walked off into the building. I was glad for her absence. With her gone and Edward staying home to sulk for the day, I felt a little better.

The rumbling roar of a severely abused engine could be heard as an ancient Chevy truck turned into the parking lot. I was about to ask Jasper who was the unfortunate owner of that beast when the door swung open and my Bella climbed out.

I stood frozen as she made her way across the lot. Even with Jasper sending me confidence, I couldn't make my feet step forward. She looked incredibly beautiful even though she was toting a cumbersome bag on her shoulder — which clearly threw her gait off — but she still made it look sexy as hell.

I was finally ready to make my move when she lost her footing. Unable to react in time, I watched her fall to the ground, hearing the air rush out of her lungs in a whoosh as she hit.

Emmett roared with laughter, but I ignored him. My Bella was more important. Jasper quietly reminded me to go at human speed as I moved to her side. There were spectators. Thankfully, she wasn't far, and when I reached her side, I knelt down beside her. Using all the southern charm I could muster, I offered her my assistance.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Can I offer you a hand?"

She opened her eyes and I was momentarily dazzled. They were the most beautiful shade of brown.

"No thanks, I've got it," she said as she stood up. She looked embarrassed, and I scrambled to find a way to ease her discomfort.

"Let me help you with that." I reached to take her heavy bag from her at the same time as she pulled away. Our grappling caused the bag to fall, and its contents spilled all out over the ground.

"Damn it. I thought I told you I had it!" she snapped, giving me me a furious look as she knelt to collect her belongings. I hastened to help her pick it all up, but at the same time it was fascinating to see the things she carried around with her. A book of Sylvia Plath's, _The Bell Jar_, a sketchpad, a guitar pick and a… What the heck was that?

"Here's your, ummm," I trailed off.

"Tampon, It's a tampon! If you're finished examining it, I would like it back, unless you're secretly a woman, then by all means keep it," she said coolly, holding out her hand.

I dropped it into her hand, mortified by the direction our first encounter was taking. I scrambled for something, anything, to say. I could let her leave without talking to her. "I'm Jasper's cousin from—"

"Don't care," she called over her shoulder as she walked into the school.

_Well, that didn't go how I expected._


	6. Chapter 5: You Never Get a Second Chance

**Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended**

**This chapter is dedicated to SallyDog3 for her suggestion of Edward accompanying Jessica to her _Living With Herpes _Group. Honorable mentions to LisaF29 and Chaynne212, for their awesome ideas. It was a tough choice. **

* * *

**Chapter 5 - You Never Get a Second Chance...**

**Peter POV**

I was sitting on a boulder with Emmett. He had just finished his hunt, and the air still stank with the musky odor of the deer he had drained. He was trying to persuade me to have a go at it. I knew Carlisle had spoken with him before we left, as he was getting anxious about my control. I hadn't hunted since good ole Cletus, and my throat was beginning to burn, but it was not yet bad enough to force me to suck on the wildlife.

My mind wandered to Edward and his little human toy. I bet she would be tastier than this, but seeing as Jasper is his 'brother', I suppose snacking on the goods is a no-no. It would be fun to see her though, to see what made this little human so special to garner such attention. I never imagined Edward being attracted to anyone, especially not a woman.

"You gonna hunt or what?" Emmett said, playfully punching me on the arm.

"You worried Daddy's going to give you shit when you get home?" I teased. "Naughty Emmett didn't get the big, bad, human-drinker to hunt."

"You know it's not like that," he said awkwardly. "Carlisle just worries is all. Edward is stressing about his human, so he's giving him a hard time about it."

"See, if you all weren't such freaks, you'd understand," I explained. "I hunted on a human recently. It's much easier to resist if you have just had a swig of the good stuff." I wasn't going to admit the fact I had just been contemplating snacking on Edward's human.

"Okay, fine. If you aren't going to hunt, can we head back? My Rosie will be missing me. I have husbandly duties to attend to." He leered.

"Too much information, dude!" I groaned as I got to my feet.

"You're just jealous." He laughed and shot off into the forest.

That was true, I _was_ jealous. I was missing Charlotte, not just physically but her companionship, too. Emmett was a great guy, and he was fun to hang with, but he had the same weird innocence as the rest of the Cullens.

The whole family, with the possible exception of Jasper, was ignorant of the _real_ vampire world. And even Jasper was becoming domesticated. They went to school and took hunting trips and probably even had game night once a week, just like a human family.

I had known when I came to Forks that it was going to be an adjustment. Charlotte had shared my past. She knew the things I had done in Maria's name, because she had done them, too. The only person I had left from that life was Jasper, and I couldn't burden him. I wondered if I would ever find someone who could understand me and my fucked-up life.

Emmett raced me back to the house. As we came into the yard, I could hear the distinct grunts and moans of the mated pairs enjoying each other's company. I looked to Emmett, who grinned and took off inside to find his girl.

Fuck that. I was already feeling adrift without Charlotte; the last thing I needed was to listen to a soundtrack of fucking. I turned heel and headed out towards the town. Maybe there would be some fun to be had with the locals.

It turned out there wasn't.

The town was small, dated, and boring. There wasn't even a good bar to hang in and watch the drunks. I wandered around the streets, thankful that the setting sun was shielded by the overcast sky so I could move about in the open without looking like a walking disco ball. Though I still needed to wear sunglasses to conceal my crimson eyes.

As I passed the library, I caught a faint scent of Edward lingering in the air. It couldn't have come at a better time. This was exactly what I needed: a distraction.

The trail led into the treeline following the edge of the road. Had he been racing the traffic? Nothing would surprise me with him. It split off from the road and led deeper into the forest. As I followed it, I noticed another faint scent mixed in with his. A sweet combination of honey and vanilla; it reminded me of home.

The opportunity to screw with Edward forgotten, I followed the honey and vanilla until I found a strong concentration of it on a moss-covered boulder. I leaned down, inhaling deeply. I could nearly taste the sweet smell, and it awoke something in me. It was almost a physical reaction. Something about this scent filled me in a way nothing ever had before.

I tracked the scent along an overgrown path. Although it had rained recently, I was determined not to lose it. The trees opened up, and I found myself looking at the back of a small, white house. I stood for a moment and listened, waiting to hear who may live there. I heard the front door open and a man's voice call out, "Bells, you home?"

"No, I'm out enjoying the thrilling nightlife in Forks," a soft female voice muttered. Then more loudly she called, "I'm upstairs."

I chuckled at her clear agitation. Whoever this girl was, she was bitchy. Thank God I didn't have to deal with her.

I decided to watch the house from the treeline, curious as to whether this girl was the owner of the scent, or if it was someone else living there. I hoped to whatever God there was that it wasn't the dude. I couldn't very well go around huffing him to get a fix.

The sky darkened, the lights flipped off downstairs, and shortly after the distinct sounds of a man's snores could be heard.

I was about to approach when I saw a familiar shape dart out of the trees and disappear around the side. Edward. I had all but forgotten about him since the discovery of the new scent.

I moved around to the front of the house and saw him sliding stealthily through the window. This girl must be his latest obsession.

I walked closer and heard a faint heartbeat flutter faster as if panicked. It was coming from upstairs where the girl was. I found myself feeling panicked as well. I didn't know her but I needed to protect her. What the fuck was wrong with me?

I could hear her moving around in her bed. It was then I realized she was sleeping.

"...stop groping me you freakish Fraggle!... no... I won't kill the bunny!" she mumbled.

What the fuck? This girl had issues.

I scaled the tree before jumping across to the window. Looking in, I could see Edward standing in the corner with a full-on salute happening in his pants.

Seeing me, he walked in front of the window, greeting me with a solid 'what the fuck' face. I chuckled at his attempt at being intimidating; his dick was practically poking me in the eye. Does he have no personal space boundaries?

"Edward," I said, cocking an eyebrow as I nodded towards his little problem. "Do you mind getting that out of my face?"

He glanced down and saw what I was referring to and gasped, lurching away from me and cupping his groin as if he thought I was going to make a grab for it. He wished.

My attention was pulled from him and his little problem by a soft sigh from the figure on the bed.

I stared at her, entranced. She was the most magnificent creature I had ever seen. Her hair was a beautiful shade of chestnut and her skin was a perfect shade of ivory with a rosy hint of blush on her cheeks. Despite the fact her hair was a tangled mess and her forehead had a sheen of sweat from her earlier anxiety, it did not detract from her beauty. She was stunning.

She seemed to eclipse all else. A typhoon could have blown through the room, and I wouldn't have noticed. My breathing had slowed to match hers, and I was sure if my heart still beat, it would have done the same.

Mating had been described to me many times, but I never imagined how intense it would be when it happened.

I knew in that moment that I belonged to her, and I was thoroughly fucked because of it.

I was pulled from my stupor by a hiss from the corner of the room. Edward must have heard my thoughts, and he wasn't happy. Tough shit.

I dropped into a crouch, and he did the same. I moved between him and the sleeping beauty resting on the bed. I watched him hesitantly move a step back. He couldn't really think he had a chance of besting me. I was a _real _vampire with years of fighting experience. He was a squirrel-sucking moron with years of high school experience. I grinned evilly and allowed him to hear my thoughts. I was going to end him.

Just then, the figure on the bed rolled over and sighed again. It was like being doused with ice water. My attention snapped to her. Fuck, I couldn't fight the pussy boy here, humans were ridiculously fragile. I'd know, after all, I'd killed so many. I _had_ to get him away from her.

I was preparing to tackle him out of the window when someone grabbed me from behind. My arms were pinned back, and I looked up to see Emmett holding Edward in the same position.

"Major," I hissed.

"Not here," he replied curtly. "Alice saw what would happen. We came as fast as we could, but you need to come outside now. If you fight him here, Bella will get hurt."

The thought made me freeze. I could not allow her to be hurt.

Sensing my acceptance, Jasper loosened his hold on me, but Emmett did not do the same to Edward. If anything, he seemed to be holding him tighter.

"Outside, Edward," Jasper growled. Emmett pulled Edward along and shoved him outside, never letting go of his arm. Now it was just Jasper and I in the room. I was fighting back the low growl that was building in my throat. I knew Jasper wouldn't hurt her, but I didn't want anyone this close to my girl.

Raising his hands, he stepped away from me. "Peter, let's go back to the house and talk. Bella will be fine here. Edward will be with us."

I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I couldn't introduce myself to her like this. She would probably tell me to fuck off. Going against my instincts, I slid out of the window and, with Jasper running behind me, I headed back to the Cullen house.

Halfway back, we caught up with Emmett and Edward. Ordinarily, Edward was the fastest, and he would have been back long before us, but he was currently being carried under Emmett's arm like a football.

"No, Emmett, you don't understand," Edward spluttered. "We need to go back. Didn't you see his face? He wanted her blood." He struggled again, trying to free himself, but Emmett was insanely strong.

That stupid fuck thought I wanted her blood?

"I think you misunderstood the situation, Eddie," Emmett said conversationally. "I saw his face, and that was not the face of someone with snacking on their mind. I think Peter just met his mate."

"When?" Edward asked stupidly. "We were only at Bella's and... NO!"

"Yep," Emmett cheerfully replied.

"But he can't! She's mine!"

I growled. Jasper gripped my arm, and I felt myself calm. I wanted to protest, but he was pumping me full of his shiny-happy-people mojo.

Emmett sped up his pace, either to get Edward out of my range in case I blew, or because he was as sick of listening to him as I was.

When we reached the house, Esme and Carlisle were standing on the porch. Alice must have warned them of our return.

"Emmett! What are you doing? Put your brother down." Esme scolded when she caught sight of us.

"I will if he promises to calm down," Emmett said. Edward struggled against him but did not speak.

"Edward, Son, what is the matter?" Carlisle asked.

It seemed Edward was too wound up to answer, so Emmett intervened. "Peter just found his mate." He released Edward, who landed on the floor in an undignified heap.

There were various reactions to his announcement. Esme jumped from Carlisle's side and embraced me in a motherly hug, whispering her congratulations. Rosalie huffed, clearly annoyed as she took in the scene and went back to examining her manicure.

Carlisle stepped forward looking pleased but perplexed as he shook my hand. "That's wonderful news," he said, "but it doesn't explain what is wrong with Edward."

"He _thinks _that he has mated with _my _Bella!" Edward announced, as if he was telling them I massacred the townsfolk.

There was a moment of silence as they processed the news.

"Well, that is unusual," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "I have never heard of two vampires mating with the same person."

"SEE!" Edward turned on me. "She can't be your mate. Carlisle said so."

I rolled my eyes. This boy was so darn stupid.

"He said he'd never heard of two vampires mating with the same person," I corrected. "That is true. She is _my _mate. Not yours."

"But... she... you... NO!" He spluttered. "This is wrong. Alice, tell him she's mine."

Alice looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Edward. I can't get a clear read on Bella's future at the moment. There are too many decisions to be made. But I can see _your _future, and Bella is not a part of it.

"Edward, I know you have felt drawn to Bella since you returned from Denali, but what makes you think she is your mate?" Carlisle asked.

"She is fascinating. She keeps me guessing, and I'm constantly thinking about her," he replied.

"But she's a person, Eddie," Emmett said. "Not a sudoku puzzle. What is it about her as a _person _that attracts you?"

Edward looked completely at a loss. "I don't know. I have not been able to get to know her. We haven't been on the best of terms. I fear I did too good a job of distancing myself for her safety."

Jasper rolled his eyes but, surprisingly, it was Rosalie that spoke up.

"You have not been on the 'best of terms' as you put it because she can't stand you, Edward," she said bluntly. "I don't like her, but even _I _took the time to actually observe her reactions; she has gone out of her way to avoid you. Didn't you notice the number of times she ducked into the bathroom when you were near? She even sent Jessica Stanley over to sit with you at lunch rather than join you."

"Of course not," he said stubbornly. "How am I to know how many bathroom breaks are normal for a human, and the lunch incident was just a misunderstanding. She was just being a good friend to Jessica."

"Oh for the love of..." Jasper trailed off then seemed to steel himself. "Edward, she is not interested. She radiates irritation whenever you are near. As for being a good friend, the only person that Bella likes less than you is Jessica Stanley. You should be thankful she doesn't know you've been creeping into her room at night as she would have taken her father's gun to your ass."

I watched his face change expressions. He looked like a baby who has had his candy stolen. I half expected him to cry and start sucking his thumb. Esme moved to his side and rubbed his back, attempting to comfort him.

This was taking too fucking long. I was getting impatient. I wanted to get back to Bella and his annoying histrionics were wearing thin.

"Is this settled then?" I asked. "Can I get back to _my _Bella now?"

"Actually Peter—" Carlisle began, but I had reached my limit.

"Now what?" I growled. "Do we need to stand around and coddle the Golden Boy a bit longer?"

"No," he said calmly. "I was going to say you will need to hunt before you see Bella."

"Oh, sorry," I said, a little embarrassed at my outburst. "Thanks for the concern, Dr. C, but I am in complete control of my thirst. Bella doesn't smell appetizing to me at all. Her scent is wonderful but it doesn't incite bloodlust."

"That's good, but there is the issue of eye color. If Bella should happen to wake while you're there, she will surely be alarmed by your red eyes."

Shit. I hadn't thought of that. I guess it's time to embrace my inner pussypire and go drain some wildlife.

Fuck my life.

"How about now?" I asked as I dropped the carcass of the deer I had drained to the ground.

"Hmm." Alice gave me an appraising look. "No, they're still orange. They clash with your hair."

"For fuck's sake, Alice. I didn't ask you for style advice. I wanted to know whether my eyes had changed enough for me to introduce myself to my mate without scaring the shit out of her."

"You asked for my help," she huffed.

"Can't you just use your gift and tell me how many more deer I have to suck down?"

"I could, but where would be the fun in that?" she said with an angelic smile.

I was close to my limit. If it wasn't for the fact Jasper was my brother, I would have launched her into a lake hours ago. I had drained so many deer they were in danger of extinction.

"Okay, calm down," she said, noticing my furious expression. Her eyes glazed over for a minute, yet another reason my gift was better — when I got the info I didn't glaze over and look like a complete 'tard. At least I don't think I do.

She snapped out of window-licker mode and smiled. "Just six more and you'll be good to go."

Six more! I already felt like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man I was so damn full. The thought of sucking down another six made me want to cry.

_This is for Bella, _I reminded myself. _All for my Bella. _

"That's much better," Alice said as I dropped the sixth carcass to the ground. "Although why you didn't just wear contacts is beyond me."

I growled and chased her back through the woods to the house. Her laughter tinkling in my ears all the way.

I had spent so long hunting that it was dawn by the time we got back. I wanted to get to my Bella straight away, but Jasper advised me to wait. We concocted a plan for me to drive him and Alice to school, and we would introduce me as his visiting cousin.

I was pacing the floor like a caged animal as I waited for Jasper. I'm sure he was counting the minutes to get rid of me as my emotions were everywhere.

Finally, it was time to leave, and I obliterated the speed limits as I drove. I trusted Alice to keep an eye out for traffic cops, but as this was Forks, I doubted there would be any around. It was still early after all. They were probably on their donut run.

We pulled into the parking lot beside Rosalie's red bitch-mobile. Emmett was grinning like a fool as Rosalie gave him a disgusted look and walked off into the building. I was glad for her absence. With her gone and Edward staying home to sulk for the day, I felt a little better.

The rumbling roar of a severely abused engine could be heard as an ancient Chevy truck turned into the parking lot. I was about to ask Jasper who was the unfortunate owner of that beast when the door swung open and my Bella climbed out.

I stood frozen as she made her way across the lot. Even with Jasper sending me confidence, I couldn't make my feet step forward. She looked incredibly beautiful even though she was toting a cumbersome bag on her shoulder — which clearly threw her gait off — but she still made it look sexy as hell.

I was finally ready to make my move when she lost her footing. Unable to react in time, I watched her fall to the ground, hearing the air rush out of her lungs in a whoosh as she hit.

Emmett roared with laughter, but I ignored him. My Bella was more important. Jasper quietly reminded me to go at human speed as I moved to her side. There were spectators. Thankfully, she wasn't far, and when I reached her side, I knelt down beside her. Using all the southern charm I could muster, I offered her my assistance.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Can I offer you a hand?"

She opened her eyes and I was momentarily dazzled. They were the most beautiful shade of brown.

"No thanks, I've got it," she said as she stood up. She looked embarrassed, and I scrambled to find a way to ease her discomfort.

"Let me help you with that." I reached to take her heavy bag from her at the same time as she pulled away. Our grappling caused the bag to fall, and its contents spilled all out over the ground.

"Damn it. I thought I told you I had it!" she snapped, giving me me a furious look as she knelt to collect her belongings. I hastened to help her pick it all up, but at the same time it was fascinating to see the things she carried around with her. A book of Sylvia Plath's, _The Bell Jar_, a sketchpad, a guitar pick and a… What the heck was that?

"Here's your, ummm," I trailed off.

"Tampon, It's a tampon! If you're finished examining it, I would like it back, unless you're secretly a woman, then by all means keep it," she said coolly, holding out her hand.

I dropped it into her hand, mortified by the direction our first encounter was taking. I scrambled for something, anything, to say. I could let her leave without talking to her. "I'm Jasper's cousin from—"

"Don't care," she called over her shoulder as she walked into the school.

_Well, that didn't go how I expected._

* * *

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed, we love reading them all especially the date suggestions. Of course we have a new question for you and this time you not only get a chapter dedication we will use it in the story too. **

**We need suggestions for a nickname for Peter. We are a bit tapped out name wise and need your help. **


	7. Chapter 6: To Make a First Impression

**Disclaimer****:** **All ****publicly**** recognizable**** characters****, ****settings****, ****etc****. ****are ****the**** property ****of ****their ****respective ****owners****. ****No**** copyright**** infringement ****is**** intended****. **

**Huge ****thanks ****to ****Gredelina****1, ****Augustmoon****99, ****Chaynne****212 ****and ****Arrr**** for ****pre****-****reading**** this**** chapter****. **

**This**** chapter ****is ****dedicated**** to ****gimpy****810 ****for ****her ****nickname ****suggestion ****for ****Peter****, ****it ****will ****be ****in ****used**** the ****next ****chapter****. **

* * *

**Chapter 6 — To Make a First Impression**

**Bella POV**

I didn't sleep well that night. I had bizarre dreams of Edward Cullen chasing me through the forest, holding a bunny and a straw, trying to get me to take a sip. When he caught up to me, I saw that it was Nemo, the bunny that Renee had bought me at a fair when I was ten.

I had loved that bunny, but when I was in Forks that summer, Renee decided Nemo deserved freedom and released him in the garden. He enjoyed a few hours of 'freedom' before being eaten by a coyote.

Morning came too quickly, and when I rolled over to hit the alarm, I became tangled in the sheets. Trying to pull myself free, I fell to the floor with a thud. Frustrated, I brushed myself off and gathered my things for a shower, only to discover when I stepped inside that Charlie had used the last of the hot water. This day was really going to shit.

I headed out the door, only to be confronted with another cold, damp morning. Thankfully, I had no added challenges from Mother Nature today, as I think even _she_ knew my lack of sleep was going to be enough.

My day seemed to be going to hell as I got into my truck. The decrepit door refused to close as I slammed it again and again until I finally saw that I was bashing the seatbelt buckle in the door, keeping it from closing. I yanked at the belt until it snapped up and smacked me in the not-so-funny bone.

Defeated, I laid over the steering wheel and wondered what I had done in a past life that I was paying penance for now. I fought the temptation to quit and go back to bed as I reached down and turned the ignition. It seemed my truck was on the same page as me about going; it whined in protest, but finally, with a rattling shudder, it gave in.

My mind wandered as I drove. How Edward Cullen had found his way into my dreams was beyond me. His ability to fuck up my life without even being there was irritating to say the least. Vampire or not, if he came near me today, he was going to regret it.

Although I was dedicated to ignoring Edward as much as humanly possible, there were things about his vampire life I was curious about. He hunted animals — did that mean squirrels and skunks, or did the family have a small cattle ranch on their property? I had a mental image of the Cullen kids being called to dinner as someone served a soup tureen of cow's blood.

The blast of a car horn brought me back to the present, and I swerved back into my lane. I pulled over on the side of the road and let the truck roll to a stop. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I let loose a string of expletives that would have made a sailor blush. How the hell had I let my mind wander to the point I nearly crashed?

I sat for a moment, collecting myself, looking out through dense forest beside me. I jumped when a twitch of movement in the distance caught my eye. Leaning over the seat, I cranked the passenger window down to get a better look. The air had taken on an unnatural calm; no cars passed along the road beside me and the sweet earthy smell of pine filled the cab. I unbuckled my seatbelt and scooted across the bench toward the other door.

Straining my eyes, I looked through the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of it again. But whatever was out there had stopped. A breeze blew by, rustling the branches beside me and startling me in the process.

I was struck with a moment of clarity. I was sitting alone on the side of the road, with my doors unlocked, watching what may well be a serial killer.

_Fuck this, I am not going to be that clueless victim in some bad horror movie._

Slamming the lock down, I slid across the seat, not taking the time to buckle in as I cranked over my truck. As if it knew I meant now, it started without hesitation. As I pulled away, I looked one last time out the window. A small flicker of white caught my eye only to disappear into the trees. _Maybe it was just a deer._

When I got to school, I was later than usual. I had to search for a place to park and, as I scanned the lot, I saw that four sets of eyes were locked on me as I pulled in; apparently, the Cullen clan had found me interesting enough to watch my every move now. _Great, just what I needed today, an audience._

Edward wasn't with them, but I was not going to get my hopes up for an absent day; he was probably inside terrorizing elderly receptionists. There was another figure with them, though. He was standing beside the blond guy with the pained expression.

I climbed out of the cab and made my way toward the school. Halfway across the lot, I lost my footing and landed on the ground with a jaw-rattling thud. I heard a roar of laughter that I'm pretty sure was from Mr. Brawny Cullen. Damn it.

I closed my eyes and began counting to ten. I was hoping to stave-off the stream of profanities that were itching to come out. I had only made it to five when I was interrupted.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Can I offer you a hand?" a smooth voice asked.

_Ma'am? Who the hell do I look like, Paula Deen?_

The Ma'am comment made sense when I opened my eyes and saw a pair of cowboy boots beside me. My eyes trailed up, and I saw a pair of light blue Wranglers.—_Wow! Those are tight. Hello, trouser-snake!_ — with a big-ass Confederate flag belt buckle, a black tank top and... Fuck! Golden eyes.

"No thanks," I said as I clambered to my feet, ignoring his proffered hand. "I've got it." Sadly I was used to being completely embarrassed.

I grabbed for my bag at the same moment he did. "Let me help you with that," he offered, taking hold of the strap. I pulled it from him and the strap slipped, sending my belongings scattering across the ground.

"Damn it," I cursed. "I thought I told you I had it!" I snapped at him, kneeling to gather my stuff. I looked up and saw him examining a... _Oh fuck! This day is awesome_!

"Here's your ummm..."

"Tampon. It's a tampon! And if you're finished examining it, I would like it back. Unless you're secretly a woman, then by all means keep it," I said coolly, holding my hand out. He dropped it into my palm like it had burned him.

Stuffing it into my bag, I started for the building again.

Even though I would like to deny it, I had still found myself checking him out, even the trouser-snake. I would not be letting him know that anytime soon, though.

"I'm Jasper's cousin from—"

"Don't care," I interrupted as I walked away.

_I don't care. I don't care. I don't care._

I found myself repeating the words like a mantra for the rest of the day. No matter what I tried, I couldn't shake the memory of his face from my mind. He was pale like the Cullens, and from the golden eyes, I could only assume my personal world of crazy had just expanded to include one more vampire. I was one lucky girl.

I wished I had held my tongue long enough to catch his name. As the day dragged on, I became more intrigued by the tampon twirler. He looked too old to be going to school. He must be Jasper's older cousin. Do vampires have cousins and what was he doing in Forks? I had never been remotely interested in the gossip that was the Cullens before, but now I was craving it.

Walking into the cafeteria at lunch, I noticed the Cullens looked more animated than usual. They were talking among themselves and giving me scrutinising stares. The short pixie was staring at me with a bizarre longing look.

Turning to Jessica, I braced myself for the abuse that my eardrums were about to sustain, and against my better judgment, asked her to tell me more about the Cullens.

"Why, you interested in one of them?" she asked, not concealing her excitement. Gossip was like crack to this girl.

"Yeah, the blonde is kind of hot," I said with a dopey look, glancing over at their table. If I had to listen to her drivel, I may as well have fun with it.

"Yeah, but he's taken," she said. "Jasper is with Alice."

"Him!" I said feigning horror. "Eww. Not the guy, the tall leggy blonde girl."

I tried to keep from laughing as I watched Brawny nudge his girlfriend as his booming laugh echoed out in the cafe. She, on the other hand, looked a mixture of horrified and smug. The almighty pained one was smirking as he locked eyes with me for a moment. His pixie side-kick covered her mouth as she tittered.

I looked back at Jessica, whose mouth popped open giving her a close resemblance to a goldfish. "Rosalie!" she gasped. "She's with Emmett, the big guy."

Progress. So, Barbie was called Rosalie, and she was with Mr. Brawny Towels, Emmett. Alice was the short girl and her boyfriend was Jasper, who if I recall correctly is the tampon twirlers cousin.

When I got home that afternoon, I saw a note from Charlie saying he was going to be working late. I took the opportunity of his absence to do some chores without having to work around him as he continued his efforts to bond his ass to the recliner.

I pulled the ancient vacuum out from the closet and gave it a shake. It fell apart, sending a plume of dust into the air. Awesome. Apparently, this vacuum was made the same year as the crap-mobile.

Staring at the wreckage that was once — around 1950 — a working vacuum cleaner, I was preparing to employ a few of my best curses against it when there was a knock at the door. I froze. Who the hell was it? I considered the possibility of it being Mr. Trouser-snake. I crept to the door and looked through the peephole. I wished I hadn't. Jacob Black was standing on the porch. Despite the PT and mole removal, the image of him through the distorted lens was close to his childhood moniker of Quasimodo. Beside him was an older man in a wheelchair.

I groaned.

"Hey, Bella. That you?" Jacob's pubescent voice squawked.

Crap, now they knew I was home. Bracing myself, I swung the door open.

"Hi," I greeted, plastering on a fake smile.

"Bella, my how you've grown," the man in the wheelchair said with a leer. He must be Billy Black, Jacob's father. _Now _I remembered him. I crossed my arms over my chest. Jacob's therapist was way off base; his grabby hands had nothing to do with his mother's death, this was purely genetic.

"Charlie is still at work," I said, grabbing a hoodie from the coat hook and shrugging it on.

"That's okay. I just wanted to drop in some of Harry Clearwater's special brownies." He handed me a small box.

"_Special_ brownies?" I asked with a doubtful look. Charlie was a cop after all. Admittedly the cop of a small town with the collective IQ of a hamster, but he took his job semi-seriously.

"Yep, special brownies," Billy said with a nod. "Charlie loves them."

"Okay, well I'll make sure he gets them. Was there anything else you needed?" I knew I was verging on rude, but Billy was staring at me with such enthusiasm I wondered if he had x-ray vision.

"Well, Jacob here wanted to see you," he admitted.

Oh Joy. Another stalker.

"Gee, thanks, Dad," Jacob muttered then brightened as he spotted the decrepit vacuum cleaner in pieces on the floor. "Hey, you want some help with that? I'm good at fixing stuff; I did all the work on the truck."

Well in that case... Fuck No!

"No thanks," I said, barely suppressing my irritation. He looked disappointed but didn't press the issue. His father meanwhile was gazing at my chest as if it held the secret to the meaning of life.

"Okay, so. . ." I trailed off hoping someone would take the hint and get on with what they wanted.

"I was just wondering if you would want to come down to my house this weekend. I've got a new project I'm working on and thought maybe you'd like to help," Jacob asked excitedly.

Did I give off the impression that I liked people and welcomed them in? I made a mental note to check myself in the mirror to see if my 'fuck off' face looked more like a 'fuck me' face as the males of Forks seemed to be misunderstanding me.

"You know, Jake, maybe some other time. I am going to Port Angeles this weekend to do some shopping."

His face dropped but brightened again almost instantly. I realised he had found something hopeful in my words and I cursed my manners. I should have just told him to fuck off.

"Next weekend then?" he asked excitedly. And there it is. I stifled a groan but I was sure my polite smile was now more of a grimace.

I looked over to Billy who was now fixated on my ass and oblivious to the world. There was no way I was going to his house.

"Maybe. I'll see what I'm doing and let you know," I said as I brushed by him to open the door. They both looked confused but took the hint and left with a quick goodbye.

Closing the door behind them, I breathed a sigh of relief, which turned to a groan when I spotted the debris and dirt of the broken vacuum. I scooped up the remnants of the cleaner into a trash bag and swept up the dirt.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing homework, and when that was complete, I sketched for a while. I lost track of time, and it wasn't till I heard Charlie's cruiser pulling into the drive that I realised how much time had passed. I made my way down the stairs just as he came through the front door.

"Hey, Bells," he greeted with a smile. "How was your day?"

_You don't want to know,_ I thought wryly.

"It was fine," I said. "But your vacuum cleaner has seen better days. I'm pretty sure we need a new one."

"But that thing is practically new! It was a wedding present."

"Someone bought you a vacuum cleaner for a wedding gift?" I asked incredulously.

"No, they bought it for my mum and dad when they got married. Best vacuum I've ever owned."

He looked genuinely depressed over the demise of his beloved vacuum. I almost wondered if I should comfort him, then I remembered the brownies.

"Billy Black stopped by today with Jacob. He dropped off some brownies for you. He said they were your favorite."

His face lit up at the news. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the box for him.

"Here," I said, handing it to him. He tore into the box like a kid at Christmas.

I sat down on the couch as I watched him devour brownie after brownie.

"I forgot to mention something to you," he said, taking a sip of his beer. "I want you to watch yourself when you're out and about right now. A body turned up over on the north end on Pleasant Lake. Wardens called me out this morning. It looks like it was some kind of animal attack but we can't be sure."

"No problem. I have no plans on getting that close to anything that would consider me a snack."

"Good to hear. kiddo. Have a brownie," he said, shaking the box at me.

_How can he go from dead bodies right back to brownies? _

"No thanks, dad. I'm good," _and not a pothead, unlike some._

"Harry makes the best brownies. No matter how many I eat, I always want more."

_That would be because you've got the munchies, dad._

"I have asked him for the recipe but he says its a Quileute secret. Apparently, he adds a secret ingredient."

I rolled my eyes. Yep, secret only because it's illegal. I watched him as he slowly became less lucid and began babbling on about the trouble making teens destroying mailboxes and his ingenious plans to thwart them by filling the mailboxes with cement. He thought it was masterful, and soon he was snorting with laughter. At what I wasn't sure, but I decided he'd had his fill for the night. Sighing, I walked over and pulled the box of brownies out from his hands.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" he asked, still chuckling.

"I think you've had enough _sugar_ for the night."

"But I'm still hungry," he whined

"I'll cook you something." I went to the kitchen and made a quick dinner for him, saving a plate for myself.

After we were both fed, and I was secure that he had come down enough I needn't worry about finding him playing patty cake with a tree in the front yard, I went to bed.

* * *

**Thank ****you ****to**** everyone ****that ****reviewed****, ****we ****love ****reading ****them**** all ****especially ****the ****nickname ****suggestions****. ****Of ****course ****we ****have**** a ****new**** question ****for ****you****...**

**Jacob**** has ****a**** '****project****' ****he**** wants**** to**** show ****Bella****, ****in**** the ****Saga**** he**** is ****fixing**** up**** a**** car**** but ****we**** think**** that****'****s**** a ****bit**** tame**** for**_** our**_** Jacob****. ****We**** want**** suggestions**** for**** an**** alternate**** project****. ****Best**** idea**** gets**** the**** next**** chapter**** dedicated**** to**** them****.**


	8. Chapter 7: Assume, makes an Ass out of U

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, Chaynne212 and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Nickeyd26 for her Jacob project suggestion of a human catapult. We spent a happy half hour imagining Jacob being launched into the pacific. **

* * *

**Chapter 7 **—** Assume, makes an Ass out of U and Me.**

**Peter POV**

Don't care!

She said she didn't care. What the fuck?

This is not how it is supposed to work. She's my mate! It's meant to be an instant attraction, an unbreakable bond, not this fucked-up denial.

I had it all planned out. We were supposed to be snuggling in bed by now after some awesome mating sex. Instead, I was storming through the woods venting my frustration on the landscape. I had created a nice clearing already. I could plant some flowers and make a meadow. Fuck. This damn mating thing was beginning to turn me into a pansy-ass bitch like Edward.

I was sick of this shit.

I was going to go back to the Cullen house, pack up my stuff, and get the hell out of here. I hoped Edward had found something else to amuse him. If he started screwing with me today, he was going to lose a limb.

As I walked, I planned. I would head to Vegas, do some damage at the casino, hit a strip club and maybe catch the Penn and Teller show — those fuckers were damn hilarious. I needed to have a proper hunt too, get that damn deer blood out of my system. I swear it was screwing with my mind already. I should have stuck with humans. If I'd introduced myself with _red _eyes, she wouldn't have brushed me off so damn fast.

'_No, she'd have run away screaming' _a voice whispered in the back of my mind.

Now I was hearing voices! I was right; the vegetarian diet is bad for your health. I needed to find myself a suitably vile member of society to snack on before I ended up as crazy as the Cullens.

I sped up my pace. I wanted to get out of here before Jasper could get out of school and try and stop me. That fucker had a lot to answer for. He was an empath; he knew she was like this. Why the fuck didn't he warn me?

My phone beeped with an incoming message — **DON'T LEAVE! IT WILL BE OK, PROMISE. WAIT FOR US TO GET HOME. WE NEED TO TALK! - ALICE x**

Damn Alice and her all-knowing mystic routine. She was full of crap. I ignored the fact my own 'gift' had been equally useless at predicting Bella's reaction.

Resisting the urge to crush the phone, I stuffed it back in my pocket. How could it be okay? My mate had walked away from me, completely uninterested. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? I needed Charlotte. She would understand.

'_Then phone her dumb-fuck.' _That damn voice was back, though I had to admit it had good ideas. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and speed-dialed Charlotte.

"Hello," Char's voice greeted.

"Hey, babe, you missing me?" I asked.

"Hey, Pete." She sounded genuinely pleased to hear from me, which made me feel a little better. "I miss you like crazy, hon, although I advise against any visits for a while. Tanya is not pleased about the Ming Dynasty vase you broke when you were here."

"I didn't break the damn vase. She did!" I replied, indignantly. I hadn't touched the damn thing. "_She_ broke it when she lobbed it at me after the closet misunderstanding." What did she think, that it'd bounce of my granite skin perfectly intact? Women.

"_Misunderstanding!" _a voice screeched in the background. Tanya. Just what I needed to make my day even more perfect. "You were lurking in the damn closet with your hand on Lil' Pete, watching us. How exactly did we misunderstand the situation, Peter?"

First Emmett, now Tanya. What did I have to do to show these people that it's 'Big' not 'Lil Pete', walk around naked? That might work. Maybe I should have been pant-less and red-eyed for my meeting with Bella. The red eyes may have scared her off, but Big Pete would have brought her right back again.

'_Hell yeah it would.' _Oh crap, the voice was back.

"You still there?" Charlotte asked.

"Will you fuck off already?" I growled. I was sick of this damn voice. It may have some good ideas, but I was seriously concerned for my long-term mental health.

"Well, that's just charming." Oops, I forgot Charlotte was still on the phone.

"Sorry, babe. I wasn't talking to you_,"_

"Who were you talking to? Is Jasper there? Put him on; I want to say hi."

"Umm… I was talking to some homeless bum on the side of the road. He was being a little overzealous, and he was getting on my nerves." I was _not_ about to admit to the fact I mistook her voice for the voice in my head that had been pestering me. She'd think I was crazy.

"Well that's not nice, Pete. Give the poor guy a few dollars. You know you can't eat him anyway. Dr. Fang would lose his shit if you hunted in their town."

"Yeah, about that, how are you getting on with the 'vegetarian diet', any side effects?" I questioned. Maybe she heard voices, too.

"It's not too bad. Polar Bear is good, deer is foul, but it's worth it for my Tanya."

"Tell me about it," I groaned, "Deer blood is fucking disgusting"

"Hang on, you're drinking animal blood already? I figured you'd be skipping out of Forks for hunts. You get desperate?"

"Well no. I kinda found my mate and—" My words were cut off by her high-pitched squealing; it sounded like a bunch of rabid monkeys had got hold of her phone. I couldn't make out much of what she was saying but the gist seemed to be questions about the who, how, and when of my mating.

It was like the floodgates were opened and the whole sorry tale poured out. Seeing Bella, her screwed-up deal with Edward, her shunning me, and my frustration. I even told her about the tampon incident...

"So now I'm off to Vegas," I finished.

"So now you're off to Vegas,_" _she repeated in that weird, scary voice she used when she was extremely pissed. I hadn't heard it since the time she caught me using her vintage silk blouse to polish the paintwork of _The General. _Despite my explanation of the benefits of the silk as a chamois, she wasn't amused, and she withheld kinky time for a solid month as punishment.

"Umm, yeah," I replied, "Well it's not like it's doing me any good to hang around here if she's not interested."

"Okay, now understand that I say this because I love you." Well now I was nervous. "WHAT THE FUCK, PETER! YOU FIND YOUR MATE, AND AFTER ONE ATTEMPT AT CONVERSATION, YOU FUCKING QUIT!"

Well, when you say it like that, it does sound bad.

"_Here let me talk to him,' _I heard Tanya say. Oh shit, here we go...

I heard the sound of the phone being handed over and the nasal voice of Tanya came onto the line._ "_Hey, Fucknut. What's this I hear about you and Edward's human being mates?"

"She's not Edward's anything," I growled. "And how the hell do you know about her? What did he tell you?"

"He told me nothing," she said. "Emmett called and filled me in on all the details. So what's the deal with this girl, anyway? She must be something special to have two vampires losing their minds over her."

I could hear Charlotte raging in the background. She was using her full repertoire of cuss words, and I decided on reflection that talking to Tanya, despite the fact she was a pain in the ass, may actually be the better option.

"She is amazing, but also a bitch. She barely acknowledged me today when I introduced myself and—"

I was cut off by a feral-sounding growl and Charlotte's voice saying, _"Give me the damn phone. I'm going to talk some sense into that stupid shit."_

'_This is not good' _the voice piped up again. No shit, Sherlock!

"So you're just going to give up?" Charlotte was back and using that scary voice again.

"Char, she said she didn't care." I hurried to defend myself. "How would you feel if Tanya had responded to your mating with 'Don't care'?"

"Well, dumbass, I'd have given some thought to the fact she's human and from what you told me, she's been pestered by Edward for weeks. Then, as she's sitting on the ground after falling on her ass, you come and dick around with her tampon. I bet you even tried it on with the southern charm too, right?"

How the fuck did she do that?

"Maybe," I said hesitantly, "So what am I supposed to do now? She didn't even want to know my name, Char!"

"You're overthinking this, Pete. You managed to charm me, and I was a blood-crazed newborn at the time. At least she won't bite."

I rubbed one of the scars on my forearm. It was one of my first from Charlotte. I doubted Bella would be charmed by my dropping an unconscious human at her feet and telling her to have at it. Nope, this definitely needed some thought.

"What else do you know about her?" Charlotte interrupted my musings.

"Well, she smells great, kinda like vanilla and honey. It reminds me of home," I said wistfully, "She's beautiful, too. She has long dark hair and—"

"Yep, she's a hottie, I got that," she cut in. "But what do you know about her as a person?"

"Well she seems pretty intelligent. She had a copy of _The Bell Jar _in her bag. She had a sketch pad and a guitar pick, so I think she's artistic, too."

"That's a good start. You need to do a little research. Have you ever read The Bell Jar?"

"Hell no! Isn't it about some crazy writer chick?"

I heard her sigh heavily. What did I do now?

"Okay, your first order of business is to go read The Bell Jar. If no one there has a copy, go to a bookstore and get one."

"Right, pick up a copy of the crazy chick book. What else?" I asked eagerly.

"That'll do for now," she said patiently.

"Okay then. Thanks, Char."

"Take care, Pete. I'll talk to you later."

I hung up feeling much better about the situation. I headed back towards the town. I needed a bookstore.

I noticed the trees thinning and a familiar scent in the air, Bella. What the fuck was she doing here? I followed the trail and realised I was at the edge of the school grounds. How the hell did I end up here?

As I approached the school, I attempted to follow her scent. It was mixed with the stench of hundreds of teens. Did they not have soap in Forks?

I caught another familiar scent and it was not a welcome one: Edward. Apparently, he had quit brooding in his bedroom and returned to his favourite pastime of stalking. I found him perched in a tree peering in a window. This was when my scentless ability came in handy.

I scaled the neighbouring tree and poised to leap. The dumbass hadn't even noticed my presence. He was too absorbed with the view.

I unblocked my thoughts. '_I see you're still as creepy as ever.'_

He turned and jumped when he saw me crouched on the adjacent branch, giving me a scrutinizing stare.

"Peter," he grumbled.

"Care to explain why you're still stalking my mate like a freak?" I asked.

"I find it amazing after her display this morning you would still be assuming she is yours," he said with a smug smile. Of course the freak would have come out of his sulk long enough to watch my epic failure at courting Bella.

"Look, asshole, I admit things didn't go as I'd hoped this morning, but she _is _my mate. I know that, and sooner or later she will too." I sounded pretty convincing; talking to Charlotte had done the trick.

"And how exactly are you planning to develop any kind of relationship with her? If you haven't noticed, it's not like you have anything in common. She is a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl. You planning on enrolling, too? I don't think Forks High has an adult education program." The ass really thought he was funny. "You were what... thirty when you were changed?"

"I was twenty-four, fucker," I growled. "Not all of us can be eternal teens. You're still classed as an immortal child aren't you?"

His response was cut off by the sound of the shrill ring of the school bell. I hopped down from the tree and approached the school, Edward following closely behind.

As I got closer, I could hear the humans inside, rummaging through their bags and sliding their lunch trays.

I found a window with a view into the cafeteria. Remaining hidden behind a bush, I searched for Bella. It was like feeding time on a pig farm. It seemed that parents no longer taught their offspring manners. They were all chomping their disgusting food with open mouths as they discussed who would be their next fuck.

It only took a moment to narrow down on Bella. She was walking with a girl that looked like she applied her makeup with a trowel. It did at least draw attention away from her hair which made her look like she a recently licked a power outlet. She bore a striking resemblance to Cyndi Lauper.

Edward came to my side and tried to nudge me out of the way. To an onlooker, we would look like a pair of ten-year-old boys fighting over a copy of _Playboy._

He let a growl slip when I nudged him back away from me with my elbow.

"I suggest you cut the shit, Edward, before I give you something to growl about." I gave him no room for misinterpretation in my expression. He would learn to respect me or I would end him.

I watched Bella collect a tray of food and move towards a table. She glanced at the table seating the other Cullens with a contemplative look. Jasper was attempting to calm Alice. She seemed eager to go speak to Bella.

From what I could gather of their conversation, Alice had 'seen' them being friends and was eager to get started on the relationship. The very idea made me shudder. If Jasper didn't control the munchkin, _I _would. I wasn't going to let Alice and her psycho/psychic visions screw up my relationship with Bella.

'_Nope, you're quite capable of doing that one your own,' _the damn voice piped in. I ignored it.

"Hey, Jessica, can you tell me a bit more about the Cullens?" Bella asked the Lauper look-alike.

My curiosity was piqued. This was a good thing, right? She had to be interested in me if she was asking about the Cullens. It couldn't be coincidence that the day she saw me she asked about them, could it?

"Why, you interested in one of them?" the girl asked with interest. She wasn't the only one. Edward was holding his breath and even Rosalie had stopped admiring her reflection to await the answer. We were _all_ eager for her response.

"Yeah, the blonde is kind of hot," Bella said.

I growled low in my throat as my fingernails dug into the brick exterior. Fucking Jasper! I was going to kill him! Brother or not, he was going down.

"Alice says she's not serious, and dismembering Jasper is not a good idea," Edward hissed. Like that was going to help! I didn't give a fuck if it was a bad idea. He was going to...

"And Bella would be upset," he added, breaking my train of thought. I relaxed slightly. This damn mating pull was throwing me all out of whack. I felt a little ashamed of my reaction.

I turned my attention back to the conversation in the cafeteria. "Yeah, but he's taken. Jasper is with Alice."

"Him!" Bella said, looking horrified. "Eww. Not the guy, the tall leggy blonde girl."

'_Oh shit', _the voice announced. Oh shit, was right. I'd had enough. This shit was fucking too much. I couldn't stick around to hear anything else. I needed to go. I didn't even care where I went, just not here.

I tore apart the landscape around me as I made my way back towards the Cullen mansion. I would stay long enough to give Jasper a proper goodbye then I was out of here.

Screw Charlotte and her advice. I had reached my limit.

I had been pacing the lounge, resisting the urge to put my fist through the wall for two hours, waiting for Jasper and the others to get home.

Esme was sitting on the couch, flipping through an interior design magazine. I don't know why she bothered. The whole house was varying shades of cream, as were all the other Cullen homes I had visited over the years. She was not breaking out of that habit anytime soon.

I heard the car pull into the drive, and at the same moment, Edward strolled through the back door.

Alice flitted in and came to my side. "I know you're upset but—"

"UPSET?" I shouted. "Of course I'm fucking upset. My mate wants nothing to do with me! Rosalie has more chance of getting close to her than I do!"

Rosalie smiled smugly. I was not usually given to hitting women, but if she fucked with me right now, I may make an exception.

"Peter, you've got it all wrong," Jasper said. "She is _not_ remotely attracted to Rosalie."

Rosalie huffed, but I ignored her. Jasper was pumping out the shiny-happy-people mojo and that, coupled with his reassurances, had curbed my desire for violence... For now at least.

"One thing you need to know about Bella is that she's not a social person."

"Well duh! I figured that much out for myself."

He shot me a wry look and continued. "That conversation she had with Jessica today was the most interaction I've seen her have with another person since she arrived." He turned to Edward. "You've spent more time observing her than any of us. Back me up here. She is not easy to get to know, is she?"

Edward seemed to be considering his answer. If he fucked with me, I was going to take him out. Despite his effeminate nature, he was _not_ a woman, and I had no qualms about smacking the shit out of him.

"Jasper's right," he finally admitted. "Other than with her father, and that is a fairly silent relationship, I have not seen her talk with anyone. She seems to keep to herself."

"You just need to engage her one-on-one," Alice said. "I'm sure she'd be more open to you if she wasn't in front of an audience. Especially an audience that is roaring with laughter at the fact she had just fallen on her ass." She gave Emmett pointed look. He adopted a rueful expression and stayed silent.

She made sense. I was willing to entertain the idea. But how the hell was I going to get alone time with someone who didn't want me around.

"Okay, Alice," I said with a smile. "Teach me the terms of engagement for dealing with Bella Swan."

She grinned evilly and then slipped into a vision. She snapped out of it with a smile. "I know _exactly _what we need to do."

An hour later our plans were made. Using Alice's visions and Jasper's innate cunning, we'd finally plotted out my next move.

Now all I had to do was wait.

"Here," Alice said as she dropped a book into my lap. "Something for you to read while you wait."

I glanced down and saw she had given me a copy of _The Bell Jar_.

Oh well, here goes nothing...

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who had a suggestion for Jacob's project. We were a little surprised by how many of you thought Jacob should be building a sex-bot. You guys have really filthy minds. Of course we have a new question for you...**

**Peter thinks that he will get some insight into Bella's mind by reading **_**The Bell Jar**_**. We disagree, what book do **_**you **_**think he should read to get a better understanding of her mind? **


	9. Chapter 8: It Never Rains But it Pours

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to KayaLiz for her book suggestion of Carrie. Renee may not be quite as crazy as Margaret White but she's a close second. **

* * *

**Chapter 8 **—** It Never Rains But it Pours.**

**Bella POV**

After the insanity of the previous day, I decided I deserved a break. There was also a very real risk of running into Mr. Trouser-snake again and, given the fuckery of our last meeting, it was unlikely to end well.

I had hoped that Charlie would have already left for work when I woke, but I could hear him banging around in the kitchen. I shuffled down the stairs, adopting a look of suffering. Charlie paused with his fork halfway to his mouth as he saw me.

"Geez, Bells, you don't look so good," he said. "You sick?"

I did an internal dance of joy; he was wonderfully clueless.

"Yeah, I'm feeling kinda off today," I said as I eased myself into a chair. "I think I should stay home." I sighed.

"Oh, I don't know about that, Bells. You haven't been here that long. The school might not be too happy if you missed class already. What feels wrong, exactly?"

Damn it. Apparently he wasn't as clueless as I had first thought. I had a brainwave. "It's female problems," I said. "I have cramps and—"

"Okay, okay, that's quite enough of that!" he interrupted, looking horrified. I half expected him to cover his ears and start singing.

"Take a day off, rest up. Feel better." He glanced at the clock. "Oh, is that the time? I've gotta go. I'm going to be late. See you tonight." Charlie practically ran out of the door.

I heard the front door slam and the cruiser pulling out of the drive at an impressive pace. He must have been worried I would follow him and continue the explanation of my symptoms.

I grinned and poured myself a cup of coffee. Now I just needed to decide what to do with my day of freedom.

An hour later, I was ready to go. I had decided to go First Beach — I figured I would be safe from Jacob and his friends as they would be in school. I climbed into the truck and made my way along the highway heading to La Push.

When I was nearly there, the truck began to sputter like it was running out of fuel. I looked to the gauge — which I hadn't thought to do before, as I filled it yesterday — the needle had buried itself in the red below the E.

Great. I knew this clunker was horrible on gas, but this was ridiculous.

I let the truck coast over to the dirt shoulder, and it sputtered one last time before falling silent. Now what was I supposed to do? Even if I had a cell phone, something told me there would be little-to-no reception out here in the boonies.

Swearing under my breath, I grabbed my things and hopped out of the cab. I looked up and down the road for signs of life, but other than a chipmunk watching me from his perch beside my truck, I was alone.

I began walking towards La Push. It seemed the closest route to a phone.

I had barely got more than ten feet from the truck when I heard the purr of an engine in the distance. I looked back and saw a familiar silver Volvo on the horizon.

Shit. Cullen!

I knew I'd probably already been seen, so jumping into the brush hoping to hide wouldn't help me now. I crossed my arms and waited.

The shiny Volvo gracefully hummed to a stop in front of me. Looking through the windshield, I was pleasantly surprised to see not Edward's creeptastic stare, but instead, Mr. Trouser-snake was sitting behind the wheel.

We had a silent stare-off, and I was careful to guard my expression. I didn't want him to believe that I found his charm at all effective. As if he knew I was struggling, he winked at me. Fucking winked.

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk in the other direction. I would rather hike my ass all the way back to Forks than look at Mr. Trouser-snake's smug smile.

I jumped when I heard a car door shut behind me. All the nerves in my body seemed to be vibrating with anticipation. Was I excited at the prospect of speaking to him? I really didn't want to be, but I didn't seem to have any choice in the matter.

"Bella, please wait," a soft voice pleaded.

He knew my name! How did he know my name?

I sped up my pace, but found the faster I tried to go, the clumsier I became.

_He's a vampire, Bella. You can't outrun him,_ my thoughts chided me.

I didn't even hear him moving behind me, but I knew he was there. Where else would my newest stalker be?

"Bella," the voice called again. This time I'd had enough. I spun around ready to confront him, but screeched in surprise when I turned and found myself only inches from him.

"Hey there, saw you might need some help. The name's Peter."

Even his breath smelled amazing. Fuck, I wish I had spent the extra money on the good mouthwash right now.

I'm not sure, but I think my mouth may have hung open for a minute before I recalled how to speak.

"You smell really good," I stated.

_Oh shit!_

**Peter POV**

_I am so screwed_

I had just finished reading _The Bell Jar_ and I had come to the conclusion that I was completely and utterly screwed. That chick was bat-shit crazy.

If _that _was Bella's favourite book, if she identified with _that _character, then I had a serious problem.

Why couldn't she like that cheesy vamp fiction all the girls seemed to be obsessed with lately? It would make life a hell of a lot easier when it came time to fill her in on the whole 'I'm a vampire' thing.

But no, instead I got a girl who liked a book about a suicidal woman who needs electroshock therapy.

Did Bella need that too? I wondered if Carlisle had the supplies to provide that at home. If not, I could probably get them online. I would get the best care for her. I could track down the best therapist and kidnap him for her. Carlisle might frown on that, though.

Brushing aside thoughts of Bella's possible insanity, I checked the time. Jasper and Emmett should be back by now. I wondered what had held them up.

"Alice?" I asked. "Could you just check her future again, make sure nothing has changed?"

I hated having to rely on her visions, but my gift had been a bit haphazard where Bella was concerned, and I didn't want to set myself up for another disappointment.

She slipped into window-licker mode. "Nope, nothing's changed. She will be on the highway just outside of the treaty line in a couple of hours."

Rosalie was staring out of the window, waiting for Emmett to return. He was out with Jasper setting up phase one of Operation: Talk To Bella.

I didn't understand why she was being so damn dramatic about it. He was only slipping out to siphon the gas from Bella's truck. It was not like it was dangerous.

I think she was more pissed that he had agreed to help. They had a few terse words about it before he left. She had ranted about risking the secret.

I was pretty sure she was less concerned with maintaining our cover and more bothered that the attention was being taken from her. Emmett was only too happy to help; apparently, he found Bella's clumsiness endearing and was looking forward to seeing her fall at close quarters.

Rosalie turned away from the window and looked to the front door just as Emmett strolled through, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"All done," he said happily. "I left about a gallon in the tank. It should be enough to get her halfway to La Push. By the way, Alice," he scowled at her, "why you didn't tell me the tank was full? Do you know how long it took to siphon all that out? You sure your visions aren't on the fritz?"

"My visions are fine thank you very much," she said waspishly. "I didn't tell you the tank was full because if Rose knew how long it was going to take, she'd have kicked up even more of a stink about you going."

Rosalie huffed but Emmett looked grateful.

My worries momentarily abated, I decided to have a look in Carlisle's library. Maybe he'd have some books on psychiatry. If Bella was as nutty as I suspected, I needed to prepare.

I laughed to myself as I drove along the highway in Edward's Volvo. He was going to have a hissy fit when he realized I had taken it, but tough shit. He wasn't around to ask, after all, having gone out to hunt with Esme — apparently he felt the need for some Mother/Son bonding. Esme, of course, was only too happy to indulge her favourite son.

I had considered asking Rosalie if I could borrow the bitch-mobile but realized if I pulled up driving _that _Bella would think I was gay. But by the same token, a Volvo wasn't the pillar of masculinity. I wished I had brought The General with me, but I had put it in storage before we left for Alaska. I couldn't bear the thought of putting that many miles on it.

I checked the time; if Alice was right, Bella's truck should be coming to stop right about now. I sped up a little, eager to get to her.

As I rounded the corner, I spotted her heap of a truck on the side of the road and her slight figure walking in the direction of La Push.

_'Hurry up,' _the voice instructed.

Well duh! I figured that out for myself.

I wasn't sure exactly where the boundary line was, but I figured I'd look like a bit of an ass standing and shouting at her if she crossed it.

She must have heard the car because she halted and glanced toward the bushes, as if considering diving into them. She seemed to decide against it, and instead, turned back to face me, defiantly crossing her arms across her chest.

Shit. Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as Alice had said.

I slowed the car and pulled up to park in front of her. Her gaze locked on mine and we began some strange kind of stare down. She was trying so hard to be intimidating. I couldn't help but chuckle. She looked like a ferocious kitten.

_'Don't do it, dumbass,' _the voice warned, but I couldn't help it. Disregarding its advice, I gave her a wink, effectively ending our moment as she turned heel and walked in the opposite direction.

_'I told you so.'_

Fuck, that voice was grating on my last nerve. I got out of the car and began following behind her.

"Bella, please wait," I called. She either didn't hear me or was amazingly good at ignoring the shit out of me. She picked up her pace, and for a moment, I was concerned she may trip and hurt herself.

"Bella," I tried again. This time I saw her hands twitch at the sound of her name. She spun to stand toe-to-toe with me.

"Hey there," I said. "Saw you might need some help. The name's Peter."

Her mouth hanging open, she stared at me vacantly. My suspicions about her questionable sanity were gaining credence.

"You smell really good," she said absently.

"Umm, thanks," I said. "You too."

She shook her head as if trying to clear it and gave me another adorable angry kitten glare.

"You _smelled _me?" she asked, looking shocked.

"As I recall, you sniffed me first," I told her matter-of-factly.

That didn't seem to sit well with her, as her expression changed from one of an angry kitten to a pissed-off lioness.

"I couldn't help but smell you; you were standing right in front of my face," she spat.

If I hadn't prepped myself for the possibility of crazy mood swings before our encounter, I may have been frightened, but I knew that with a little help she would be fine. I made sure to keep my voice on an even keel as I addressed her again. I learned from my research in Carlisle's study that it was best not to overexcite them.

"It's okay, I just want to help," I said slowly, gesturing to her truck.

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?" I asked, trying for an innocent expression.

"Like I'm 'special' and not in the good way," she stated boldly.

"Well, you see I did a little research..."

"About?"

_'Abort! Abort!' _the voice chanted.

"Shut up, I know what I'm doing!" I growled at the voice.

"Excuse me?" She sounded pissed.

"Not you, the voice! It won't stop... Oh never mind."

_'When are you going to start listening to me?'_

"I am going to go start walking now," she said, backing away from me. "Maybe I'll see you around."

She continued to edge away until she was near the bumper of the truck, before she turned and began quickly walking away.

Fuck. What was I going to do now? I watched her until she was nearing the turn in the road. I didn't want her to walk all the way back to Forks; that would be just ridiculous. I slipped back into the car and just as I did, a clap of thunder vibrated overhead.

I had never welcomed a rainstorm as much as I did now. There was no way she would want to walk all the way back in this weather. The rain began beating down in heavy drops as I pulled up beside her. Rolling the window down, I peeked out at her. She looked like a drowned cat. Her clothes were clinging to her small frame. She looked absolutely miserable, and it _so _worked in my favor.

"Would you like a ride?" I asked sincerely.

She didn't answer straight away; instead, she huffed and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She looked to be deliberating her options.

"Fine," she said, turning sharply and yanking the door open.

I could hear the water squish out from her clothes as she sat. Edward was going to be so pissed when he saw his leather upholstery after this. I waited for her to buckle in before I pulled away, intentionally going slow to extend our time together.

I could see her body lightly shivering from the cold, but she didn't mention her discomfort. She was very peculiar. I turned the heat all the way up and soon the car was filled with her sweet aroma.

I sucked in a breath as her scent washed over me. She was so enticing. I wanted nothing more than to find out how she tasted.

_'Listen, fucktard. Don't go licking her or humping her leg. Just try and act like a civilized person for a change, and whatever you do, DON'T answer me out loud.' _The voice was becoming difficult to ignore and I was starting to believe it may actually be trying to help.

I sat contemplating its advice, which all-in-all wasn't very helpful as to what I should do next. I hadn't had much interaction with a human before that didn't end in their demise, so I was a bit lost.

_'Offer her your coat. She's cold.'_

Fuck! Why did I not think of that before? I shrugged my coat off while she watched me carefully, as if she thought I may attack her at any moment.

"Here, put this on. You're cold." She tentatively reached out and accepted my offering. I was relieved to see her wrap herself in it.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," I told her. "Are you warming up yet?"

"Yeah, I'll feel better when I can get out of these clothes, though."

_Me too_, I thought.

"So what happened to your truck?" I asked. It seemed like as good a question as any.

"The damn thing ran out of gas. I filled it up yesterday, but I must have a leak somewhere as its empty now. It's a heap of shit anyway. I had a plan to claim on the insurance but that douche Cullen screwed it up."

I chuckled. I was definitely going to be sharing that memory with Edward later.

"So what were you planning to get with the insurance money?" I asked curiously. I was eager to know anything about her. However, if she said a Prius, I may have to reconsider my Vegas plans.

"A '69 Charger," she said. "I would sell my soul for an hour behind the wheel of one of those."

The General! This was a woman after my own heart.

"Your soul, really?" I said with a quirked brow. "Seems a bit extreme to me. Would you consider exchanging an hour behind the wheel for a date instead?"

She spun in her seat to look at me. "You can get me an hour in The General?"

"Yep," I said with a grin as I rooted in my pocket for my wallet. Extracting a picture, I handed it to her.

"HOLY SHIT!" She gasped. "You have a '69 Charger?"

"Yep." I grinned. "And if you agree to go on a date with me, I'll let you take it for a spin."

She smiled and I was momentarily stunned. Her smile made her whole face transform. She was even more beautiful. It did not last long, however. She looked back to the photo and frowned.

"Who's the blonde girl sitting on the hood?"

"Oh that's Charlotte. We used to live together. She's living in Alaska now. I hope you two can meet someday. She's awesome."

"Oh." She sounded a little surprised. "Won't she mind you exchanging driving time for dates?"

"No, Charlotte's cool," I explained.

"Well, that's nice. Hey that's my house up ahead. You can drop me off here."

Of course I knew where her house was, having recently visited her bedroom, but I didn't think this was the time to explain that. I pulled over in front of the small, white house and let the engine idle.

"Would you like me to go collect your truck for you?" I offered. "I can get Jasper to drive me and I can drive it back here for you."

She contemplated that for a moment then handed me the keys.

"Sure, that'd be great. It will save me having to explain to Charlie why I was driving to La Push when I had tricked him into letting me stay home today." Her smile seemed a little forced, but I attributed that to her concern about her father.

"Can I give you my number? Just in case you need anything. I'm always around, and don't worry about the time," I told her as I passed her a slip of paper with my number on it.

She took the paper from me and, giving me a weak wave, walked inside the house.

I pulled my phone out to dial Jasper, but before I could, it began ringing. Jasper's name flashed on the screen.

Damn Alice. She always stole the element of surprise. Shrugging off my disappointment, I flipped it open. "Hey, fucker."

"Hey, Pete, Alice said you needed some help."

"Yep, can you meet me out on the highway to La Push? Grab a few cans of gas from Emmett's Jeep. I need to return Bella's truck to her house before her dad gets home."

"Sure, I'll be right there." He hung up, and I headed back out to the highway.

When I arrived, he was already parked at the side of road in front of Bella's truck.

"It went well then?" he asked as I pulled up beside him.

"Didn't Alice tell you? I thought she'd have been giving you all a play-by-play of events."

"Nope, Bella is a bit hazy in her visions again today. Alice is mighty pissed about it. To be honest, I was happy to get out of the house for a while. Between her frustration and Edward's usual 'woe is me' routine, I was getting a bit antsy."

"What's up with Emoward?" I asked, ignoring the mention of Alice's frustration. If my mate had found a way to keep Alice out of her head, more power to her as far as I was concerned. I wondered if she could teach me the trick.

"Other than the fact he is having a shit-fit about you borrowing the Volvo, you mean?" he said with a sly grin. "Just the usual gripes. I'm getting pretty good at tuning him out anyway."

That was another skill I needed to develop if Edward was going to survive my stay in Forks.

We made short work of filling Bella's tank again, and soon I was chugging along the highway heading to her house.

I needed to get her a decent ride. This heap didn't go over 50mph without a great deal of rattling under the hood.

Jasper had gotten tired of keeping pace with me and had blown past in the Volvo a few minutes ago, but I didn't mind. I was enjoying the opportunity to immerse myself in Bella's scent. I had looked through the contents of her glove-box, but after catching sight of another of those tampon things, I snapped it closed.

As I pulled up in front her house, she came out of the front door. Yet again, I was enthralled by her beauty. She moved with unconscious grace, until she slipped on the bottom step that is.

I shot out of the car and caught her just before she hit the ground. I knew I should have been more careful about using my vampire speed, but she didn't seem suspicious. In fact, she seemed kind of pissed.

"Thank you," she said curtly. "Have you got my keys?"

"Yep, here you are." I handed them to her. "Is there anything else you need before I head off?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I'm good thanks," she said, turning and heading back to the house.

"Okay. Well you have my number. Call me if you need—"

"Will do," she replied as she closed the front door in my face.

Well that was odd. I figured she was embarrassed about her slip.

_'Yeah, that's probably it.' _The voice piped up. '_Dumbass.'_

"You and I are going to have words soon if you keep insulting me," I informed it.

_'Hey, I'm not the one that keeps answering aloud, you half-wit'_

"Whatever," I growled as I headed into the forest. I caught Jasper's scent and tracked him to the car.

"Feel like a hunt before we head back?" he asked hopefully. The emotional climate of the house must have really gotten to him, as he looked almost desperate for me to agree.

"Sure," I shrugged. I owed him a favor after all for his assistance in the Bella plan.

"Cool," he said, sniffing the air. "I smell Mountain Lion. Race ya." He shot off into the forest.

I let him run unchecked. It would all taste like various forms of shit to me, after all. I may as well let him win. I was good like that.

A few hours later, we had both hunted and were heading back to the house. Jasper was satiated after his Mountain Lion, and I was disgusted after my deer. As we pulled into the drive, my phone rang and Alice's number came up. We were almost at the door so I sent it to voicemail.

Walking into the house, we found a frantic Alice pacing the lounge, watched by a concerned Esme and Emmett and a bored looking Rosalie.

"Peter," Alice gasped as she caught sight of me. "Bella's in trouble. You need to get to Port Angeles. Now!"

I shot out of the door and jumped into Rosalie's M3. She could bitch me out later. Right now, Bella needed me.

* * *

**Ooooh a cliffy. Aren't we evil? Never fear we won't leave you hanging too long. Chapter nine is written and with the beta now and we will post as soon as we get it back. **

**Question 1: Peter's inner monologue is becoming more and more vocal; we think it deserves a name. So... we need suggestions. Best answer will get the next chapter dedicated to them as well as receiving our unending gratitude; we are creatively tapped out at the moment. **

**Question 2: Would you be interesting in reading some out-takes of this story? We plan to stick with Bella and Peter's POV from here on out, but there are some scenes that they are not there for. For example Edward's POV of his first meeting with Bella and the ensuing chaos. **


	10. Chapter 9: Rumors and Revenge

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**The dedication for this chapter goes to ellaryne and Bripearl. They both suggested the same name and we loved it.**

**We have been very bad girls lately *hang heads in shame* we forgot to give credit to two awesome writers without which this story would be crap. IdreamofEddy and ****givemesomevamp from whom we have taken so much and forgot to say thank you. IdreamofEddy is the original creator of the scentless Peter that 'knows shit' and givemesomevamp is the creator of his inner 'voice'. We are very sorry ladies. **

* * *

**Chapter 9 ****—**** Rumors and Revenge**

**Bella POV**

"MOTHERFUCKER!" I yelled.

The driver of the Volvo shot me a grin as he sped past.

I floored the accelerator. I wanted to run that ass off the road. He had cut me off at the intersection causing me to swerve and almost landing me in a ditch.

"I hate my truck," I whimpered.

What I wouldn't give to be behind the wheel of a Charger right now. Then I'd be able to teach that arrogant prick a lesson.

Are all male drivers such assholes or was it just the ones that drive Volvos? Like Edward creepy-fuck Cullen and that vamp-whore Peter.

Things had been going so well, and I had thought we were making progress. He had offered a drive in the Charger in exchange for a date, after all. He seemed interested, and despite myself, I was returning the feelings. Until he flashed the picture of his fuck-hot car and equally hot girlfriend, that was. I don't know what he was expecting me to say, but I sure as shit wasn't going to offer myself up to him and his harem. When he said he wanted me to meet Charlotte, it made me feel like I was being doused with cold water.

I wondered if it was a vampire thing, the sharing. I knew the Cullens, with the exception of Edward, were all coupled-off, but I never expected it to be a 'share and share alike' thing.

I realized long ago, from witnessing Renee's experiences, that forming relationships was a waste of time. I had seen her work her way through a parade of boyfriends, and it always ended badly. I was not going to open myself up to that kind of pain. My goal since around age thirteen was to get through school, earn a scholarship to a decent college, and never look back.

Peter and his charm had almost changed my mind. For a moment, my certainty wavered, and I imagined how it would be to develop a relationship with him. I realized the whole vampire issue may throw a wrench in the works. How could you form a relationship with someone when you're their natural food source?

Thankfully, he had shown his true colors before my ridiculous fantasy had progressed too far.

It was a good thing, I told myself. Opening yourself up to another person would only end in pain, but why did I feel so hollow now? How could he have made such an impact on me?

I thumped the steering wheel in frustration. This trip to Port Angeles was supposed to take my mind off of him and his perfect face and smooth voice and... FUCK IT! There I go again, thinking of him.

I pulled into a parking spot and grabbed my purse. I had done a little research on the internet before I left, and according to the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, this shit-hole town had a grand total of two bookshops. I longed for Phoenix and its monster-size Barnes & Noble. I had spent hours in there when I was younger. It was my safe haven when Renee became too much to deal with.

As I headed down the street, consulting the directions I had printed off the internet, I heard a familiar and definitely unwelcome voice. Jessica Stanley.

"No, really, Lauren, she's gay. She was totally lusting over Rosalie Hale. She admitted it!"

Awesome. She was spreading the story of my apparent lesbianism far and wide. I had not thought of the consequences when I had screwed with her at lunch, but now that I thought of it, it may have its benefits. If I was lucky, it would deter Mike Newton and his cronies from pursuing me.

"I knew it," the nasal voice of Lauren answered. "I caught her checking me out in the changing room the other day."

What the fuck! I tried to remember any time I had been looking at Lauren. The only time I could recall paying any attention to her was when I was trying to decide if it was fluorescent lighting casting shadows or if she really was sporting a moustache. I was certainly _not _checking her out!

I watched the demented twosome disappear into a store, and I decided a little revenge was in order. I spotted Jessica's car in a side street, so I scanned the area for witnesses, and seeing no-one, I ducked into the alley.

Renee had once had a boyfriend with a penchant for fucking with the wealthier residents of our street. Nothing gave him as much pleasure as letting down the tires of our neighbours new fancy SUVs. He had taken me on one of his jaunts and taught me how to use a screwdriver to do it. I didn't have a screwdriver handy, but I did have a hair pin.

Crouching down beside the car, I slipped off the cap and pressed my hair pin into the valve. As I heard the air hissing out, I laughed to myself. This was exactly what I needed to cheer myself up. Taunting gossiping bimbos was always fun.

I heard the terrible twosome exiting the store, still chattering away about my alleged lesbianism. I quickly capped the valve and ducked further into the alley and waited for the fuckery to commence.

"Umm, Lauren, is the tire supposed to look like that?" Jessica asked stupidly.

"How would I know?" Lauren replied. "I don't think it matters, though. As long as it runs, it's okay, right?"

"I guess so." Jessica sounded unsure. She must have ownership of the shared brain today.

They climbed into the car, and Jessica gunned the engine. Apparently, that was enough to satisfy her, as she pulled out of the side street and drove straight into a telephone pole.

I was in hysterics by that point as they scrabbled out of the car and examined the damage.

"My Dad is going to kill me!" Jessica squawked.

"Screw your Dad. _I'm_ going to kill you," Lauren wailed. "I'm traumatized. I'll probably develop PTSD."

I rolled my eyes, PTSD, seriously? I was pretty sure you needed a brain for that, and Lauren was definitely lacking in the IQ department. I was impressed she even knew how to spell it.

I stayed hidden in the alley and listened to them as they debated their options. Jessica was in favor of calling Mike to come 'rescue them' but Lauren was demanding Jessica call an ambulance. As far as I could tell, neither of them were injured, but I guess Lauren was preparing her evidence for the inevitable lawsuit.

I almost blew my cover when I heard Jessica lament the fact Edward Cullen had not been there to rescue them as he had done for me. What a pair of imbeciles.

Deciding I had heard enough, I slipped out of my hiding place and headed along the alley. I had spent so long listening to the fallout of my plot that dusk was falling quickly. My escape route had landed me in an unfamiliar street.

It was dark, dingy, and to be honest, creepy as hell. The only buildings I could see were warehouses and a bar on the corner called _One Eyed Willy's. _There was a group of scruffy-looking men congregating at the entrance.

I considered backtracking down the alley but the thought of dealing with a 'traumatized' Lauren and Jessica was more abhorrent to me than walking past the bar.

I clutched my purse a little tighter and headed down the street with my eyes cast down.

"Hey, beautiful, want to come have a drink with us?" one of the men called. His cronies laughed appreciatively.

"No thanks," I replied. "My sponsor would be disappointed."

"We won't tell if you don't," he assured me. His cronies laughed again. They were like performing sea lions. I wondered if he rewarded them with a fish for each laugh.

"Tempting," I said thoughtfully, "but no. Clean and sober for twelve years now. Don't want to ruin it."

I focused on maintaining my unruffled demeanor, but inside I was starting to panic. This whole situation screamed _Law and Order: SVU._

The men had fallen silent, and I thought for a moment they had lost interest, but I soon realized they had found another way to freak me out. They were following me.

I gave up on my faux calm and started jogging. I heard footsteps behind me, and just as I approached the corner, a hand grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"Where you going? We were going to have a party, and you're the special guest." The ringleader leered. He leaned in close, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Sorry, I have to get going. My dad is waiting for me at the car, and he'll be upset if I'm late. He's got to get to work. He's a police chief." I tried for a confident tone but my nerves showed through, and my voice quavered.

"Well, actually, I wasn't so much asking you, as informing you," he sneered.

I felt rough hands grabbing me and pushing me against the wall. My jacket was shoved from my shoulders, pinning my arms in place. Adrenaline shot through me, causing everything around me to take on a surreal nature.

"Hurry up, Lonnie. I want my turn," one of the men holding me to the wall said.

Huh, he's called Lonnie. I considered for a moment how careless of them it was to use their names. Then, with sickening horror, I realized that it didn't matter what they called each other. I was not going to live long enough to tell anyone.

"Now, now fellas we'll all get a chance," Lonnie said. "There's plenty to go round."

I struggled against the hands holding me but they were too strong. All I succeeded in doing was scraping my back and elbows against the wall.

I could feel the warm trickle of blood running down my arm. I noted distractedly that I felt no pain but that thought didn't hold my focus for long as rough hands were now roaming over my chest and another was grabbing at my zipper.

I struggled but that only made the hands hold me tighter. I wished for the relief of unconsciousness but my brain seemed to be more alert than ever. I could see and feel everything in sharp detail and it made it all too real.

Just then I heard a growl from the end of the alley, and the most welcome voice imaginable...

"Gentlemen, that is _not _how you treat a lady."

I exhaled in relief. Peter was here.

**Peter POV**

_Bella, Bella, Bella._

Her name rebounded around my mind. For once it was my thoughts alone and not that annoying fucking voice taunting me.

I gunned the engine, pushing it to the limit. Rosalie would probably give me shit for it later, but she was way down on my list. Bella needed me.

As I drove into the town, I realized I had no idea where Bella was, or what was happening to her. I cursed myself for not questioning Alice before I left.

_'Feel her,' _the voice instructed.

"Feel her? I don't think this is the time for intimacy advice," I remarked.

_'No you fucking imbecile, FEEL her, the mating bond. It will lead you right to her.'_

Oh, why didn't I think of that?

_'I refer to my previous statement: you are a FUCKING IMBECILE_,' the voice taunted.

When this was over, we were going to have a serious talk. As fun as it was to have a voice in my head giving me advice, the insults were not cool.

I concentrated for a moment on the pull in my chest. It was a curious sensation, almost like there was a rope connecting me to Bella. I followed the pull and it led me to a dingy area of town.

What was Bella doing here?

"Now, now, fellas, we'll all get a chance. There's plenty to go round," I heard a rough voice say.

I sped in the direction of the voice and found a horrific scene.

Bella was pinned to a wall by two men while a third was pawing at her. He reached for the zip of her jeans, and I growled. I was going to end them.

_'Calm and careful,' _the voice chided._ 'You'll scare her.'_

"Gentlemen, that is _not _how you treat a lady," I said conversationally. Despite my fury, I did not want to scare Bella any more than she already was. I could hear her heart racing at an unhealthy pace. My poor girl was terrified.

I flashed over to the men and pulled them off of her with the utmost care. I did not want to kill them. Yet. They needed to feel the same terror Bella felt. Their demise would be slow and painful.

"Hey, buddy, she's taken. Go find your own," one of the men that had been holding Bella to the wall said.

I had heard enough. With a simple flick of the wrist, I knocked him and his accomplice unconscious. Now it was just Bella and her attacker, and I wanted him alert and aware for his lesson.

I gripped him around the neck and pinned him to the wall. "You made a serious mistake messing with this lady," I said. I took his hand as if preparing to shake it, but instead I broke his fingers. They made a satisfying crack, causing him to howl in pain, and I rejoiced in the sound.

I heard a whimper and turned to look at Bella. She was cowering against the wall, her eyes locked with mine.

"Your eyes!" she whispered.

Fuck! My eyes would be black. I tried to calm myself, but the howling of her attacker was feeding my rage.

I tightened my grip on his neck and his howls were cut off; instead, he made a choking sound that seemed to disturb Bella even more. She edged along the wall, never taking her eyes from me.

_'Help her. Deal with him later,' _the voice instructed.

With another flick of the wrist, I rendered him unconscious and dropped him to the ground.

I held my hands up and slowly approached Bella. She didn't cower from me, and that made me feel a little encouraged.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I reassured her. "I'm sorry I scared you. It's okay now. I promise."

I slowly moved closer to her, and as I did, a tiny drop of blood slipped off her finger. Forgetting my previous caution, I moved to her side and examined her. Her elbows were scraped and bleeding, and as I ran my hands over her back, she flinched. I turned her gently and saw another patch of crimson blood staining though her shirt.

She was visibly shaking, so I pulled her jacket up to her shoulders. She hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry, Kitten," I soothed.

My words seemed to open the floodgates, and she crumpled into my arms. Holding her as gently as I could, I eased us both down to the ground and pulled her onto my lap. She curled into me, and I was struck at that moment by just how small and fragile she was.

In all my previous experiences with her, I had found her to be a force to be reckoned with. But as she clung to me, sobs wracking her body, there was none of her usual hardness. She was vulnerable. Despite the horror of the circumstances, I couldn't help but feel grateful that she found comfort in me. My heart broke seeing her so hurt, though. What I wouldn't give for Jasper's gift right now. I felt useless merely sitting here holding her.

I rocked her in my arms, occasionally whispering comforting words to her, and slowly her sobs quieted. As she regained control of herself, she lifted her head and looked into my eyes.

"Thank you," she said, her voice rough with emotion.

"Anytime, Kitten," I said sincerely. "But next time you want a hug, just ask. No need to go getting yourself attacked."

She laughed shakily and struggled to her feet, glancing at the unconscious man on the ground.

"Is he dead?" she asked.

"No, just unconscious."

She straightened and approached the man. "He's called Lonnie," she informed me.

Okay, isn't this fabulous. She's on a first-name basis with her would-be rapist. She certainly made life interesting.

She was appraising him with with a detached expression. She could have been examining a work of art. With a twisted smile, she brought her leg back and kicked him square in the balls.

Remind me to never piss her off.

_'Gotcha,' _the voice responded.

"That's better," she said, stepping away.

"He's not going to wake up anytime soon," I reassured her.

"Well, duh," she said sarcastically. "If my foot smashing his balls didn't rouse him, nothing will. What are we going to do about them?" She gestured to the three unconscious men.

My phone beeped with an incoming message: **We'll take care of it. You look after Bella - Alice**

"It's fine, someone is coming to take care of it," I told her.

She shrugged complacently. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well, I don't think you're really dressed for a night out on the town. You're kinda covered in blood, Kitten."

"Oh, I forgot about that," she said, looking at her bloody arm. "Doesn't this bother you?" she asked, looking confused.

"Why would it?"

"I thought you and the Cullens were all about the blood."

_'Oh fuck!'_

For once the voice and I were in perfect agreement.

* * *

**Thank you to all that suggested a name for **_**The Voice **_**they were awesome. This time we are going to do the dedication a little different... **

**With the last chapter we reached 300 reviews – thank you to Luna4816 for being our 300th – so this time we are going to let you ask the questions. Anything you want to know, be it our shoe size or something about the story, as long as it doesn't spoil the future plot of the story we will tell you. **

**Whoever asks the best question – whichever makes us think the hardest, our brains need the exercise – will get the next chapter dedicated to them. So get thinking people, we are waiting to answer.**


	11. Chapter 10: Love Makes You Do Crazy

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to A-VampyGirl-In-A-WolfyWorld for her head-scratcher of a question. **

* * *

**Chapter 10 ****—**** Love Makes You Do Crazy Things**

**_Previously..._**

"_I thought you and the Cullens were all about the blood."_

_'Oh fuck!'_

_For once the voice and I were in perfect agreement._

**Peter POV**

"Bella, I don't know what you're talking about. I think we need to get you to Carlisle." I tried to appear composed, but inside, I was a mess of emotion. If I was human, I'd be sweating bullets.

How the hell did she know? Did Edward tell her? If he did, I was going to kill him.

"Don't treat me like an idiot," she said coolly. "I know you and the Cullens are vampires. I have known for a while, so stop with the charade."

"And you're okay with that?" I asked.

"Pretty much. I have questions of course, but from what I heard, you are a bunch of domesticated squirrel-munchers."

"Hey, I'm not fucking domesticated. The Cullens on the other hand..." I trailed off.

"Can we talk about this later?" Bella asked. "I'm cold, and honestly, the pile of unconscious men is starting to freak me out. I'm not sure where I left my truck, though."

"Don't worry. I have a car just around the corner. I will have someone come back for your truck later."

I led her to the car, and before she could grab the handle, I opened the door for her. She seemed surprised but pleased by the gesture and slid into the seat.

She was taking care not to lean back against the seat. I wasn't sure if it was from pain or her fear of ruining the upholstery, but when I informed her that it was Rosalie's car, she leaned back with a evil grin.

I shot her a questioning look, and she shrugged. "Vampire Barbie has been giving me dirty looks since I arrived here. This is payback."

I had to laugh. She was so conniving. I imagined Rosalie's face when she saw the interior. She was going to lose her shit.

"Care to elaborate on how the hell you know about vampires?" I asked, leveling her with my gaze.

"Well, there's a kid called Jacob. He's the son of one of my dad's fishing buddies, and he thought he'd be able to get in my pants by telling me his tribe's legends."

My confusion must have been obvious because she snorted. "I know, right! Anyway, one of the legends was about the 'Cold Ones'. He said the Cullens were the vampires of the legend. Then you showed up, just as pale, with the same unusual eyes. I put two and two together and came up with fangs."

"Actually, I don't have fangs," I said as I shot her a toothy grin.

She seemed completely unfazed by all this. If anything, she looked intrigued.

"You're really not bothered by all of this?" I asked.

"I was at first, but I figure if you were going to eat me, you would have done it when I was bleeding all over your shirt."

I had to admire her reasoning. I doubted most humans would react the same.

She shifted in her seat to face me and flashed me a smile. "So, give me the skinny on vampire life. Do you really eat squirrels? 'Cause I imagine they are more an appetizer than a main course. They can't hold much blood."

"I wouldn't know about squirrels, but I can say with authority that deer blood tastes like shit."

"Then why do you drink it?" she asked curiously.

"Well, until recently, I partook in a more traditional diet."

"Traditional?" she questioned.

"Humans."

"Oh." She seemed to be considering my confession. I wondered if this was the straw that would break the camel's back.

"So, why did you stop if deer tastes like shit?" she asked eventually.

"Love makes you do crazy things," I said with feeling.

Her whole demeanour changed. She slumped back against the seat and gazed out of the window. "For Charlotte?" she asked in a small voice.

"Charlotte?" I said, confused. "Fuck no!"

"How many are there in your harem?" she asked.

Harem! What the fuck?

I took in her expression and sudden realization hit me, making me feel both elated and guilty. She had been jealous of Charlotte all along.

_'Now you get it,' _the voice said.

It all clicked in my mind. Her change of mood after I showed her the picture, her questioning Charlotte's opinion of me trading driving time for dates, her eagerness to get away from me when I dropped her off at home this afternoon. It all made sense. I was such an ass.

_'No disagreement from me,' _the voice quipped.

"Oh, Kitten, you've got it all wrong." She didn't look convinced, so I elaborated. "Charlotte _was _my companion for years. She's my best friend, and while we were together, we were _never _mates."

"Mates?" She looked confused.

"Things work a little differently for vampires. We can, and do, choose a partner to be with, but there is only one mate for each of us. When we find that person"—I looked her directly in the eye—"_everything _changes."

"So you changed your diet for your mate?"

"Yes I did." Finally we seemed to be getting somewhere.

"So you and Edward are a _thing_?"

"EDWARD!" I yelped. "Fuck no! Why would you think... Actually, no, don't answer that." I couldn't handle a dissection of my masculinity right now.

Apparently, she didn't care because she continued with her explanation. "Well you're both single, you dress nice, you have great hair, and you were driving his Volvo earlier—that thing practically shoots rainbows out of the tailpipe."

I lost control of my mirth and burst out laughing. "No, although I can't speak for Edward, I can assure you _I _am straight and my mate is the most stunning, intelligent _woman _I have ever met."

"Oh, well that's nice. Then why aren't you with her now?" she asked again in that small voice.

I reached over and slid a finger under her chin and turned her to face me.

"I am, Kitten."

**Bella POV**

I don't remember hitting my head, but I must have. This was too surreal to be true.

I was sitting in a car with a vampire who had just confessed his love for me. This was way better than my last concussion-induced dream. In that, I was teaching a group of Care Bears the importance of grammar.

"Umm, Kitten, are you planning on speaking anytime soon?" Peter asked. "Not that I'm trying to rush you, but you've been sitting in silence for ten minutes now and I'm starting to get a little freaked out. Are you okay?"

"Huh," I said stupidly.

"Are you okay?" he asked slowly. Here we go again with the 'special' talk .

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said distractedly. "Can you explain a few things for me, though?"

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Just to clarify, are you saying I'm your mate?"

He gave me a dazzling smile and gently squeezed my hand. "Yes, you're my mate."

"And what exactly does that mean?" I asked, in what I hoped was a casual tone.

"It means you're it for me," he said. "Even if you choose not to be with me, I will _always _be bound to you. I know this is a lot to deal with, and I don't want to pressure you. I'll be whatever you want me to be, even if that's not in your life. But no matter what, I will always be just a phone call away."

My mind was reeling. It all sounded great, and yet, I still had doubts. Not least of all the Cullens and their couple-sharing policy. I was _not _good at sharing. In kindergarten, I once gave a child a black eye in a dispute over a Tonka Truck.

"What about the others?" I asked.

"What others?" He sounded baffled. "Other than Charlotte, there are no others."

"The Cullens," I said. "Do you join in their... activities?"

"Activities? Well we hunt together sometimes. Emmett and I play video games—"

Oh for the love of God. He was slow! "The swinging! Do you join in with the swinging?"

He looked vacant for a moment — the last time he looked like this he started talking to himself. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Oh yeah, the voices were talking to him again.

"FUCK NO! I don't, and I'm pretty sure they don't either. At least they never have when I've been visiting. As a rule, mated vampires aren't into sharing. Just ask Charlotte."

I was surprised that the mention of Charlotte didn't upset me now. His heartfelt declaration had changed everything. He was mine now and I was fairly certain that I was his.

I relaxed back in my seat, our hands still entwined, and closed my eyes. Just enjoying the moment. Even if this was a dream, I didn't want it to end.

**Peter POV**

I watched her as she relaxed back in her seat. Her eyes drifted closed and a soft smile played on her lips.

I couldn't believe the direction this day had taken. This morning I had only hoped for a chance to speak with Bella, but here we are having dealt with so much. Yet she was still here with me, so trusting and full of strength.

We were approaching her street, and I was dreading the moment I would have to let her go. I contemplated doing another circuit of the town, but as if she read my mind, she opened her eyes and shot me a wry smile.

"I have to go home eventually," she said. "He may not be a genius but even Charlie would notice if I'm not there to make him dinner."

I groaned as I pulled up in front of her house. I switched off the engine but did not release her hand, neither did she. It seemed we were both unwilling to break the connection.

"I won't be far. I have to return Rosalie's car then I'll be back," I told her as I let go of her hand. I immediately felt the loss. How on earth was I going to manage being away from her while she was at school when just letting go of her hand was so hard?

Edward may be a dick but he had a point. I was not going to be able to enroll in school with her. I was obviously too old. Maybe I could get a job as a janitor.

I watched her walk into the house, and then I called Alice to check in on the status of Bella's attackers and the truck.

She assured me that the truck would be back in the drive before her father got home and that the attackers were being 'dealt' with. Whatever they were doing to them, I hoped it had a painful ending. I knew I could rely on Jasper to do what needed to be done.

I drove in the direction of the Cullen house, replaying the more satisfying memories of the evening in my mind.

Bella knew I was a vampire, and she didn't care. She knew about the mating and seemed accepting. I knew I needed to give her time to process it all, but so far, the signs were good.

I was grinning like a fool as I pulled into the Cullens' drive. I barely noticed the apoplectic Rosalie standing on the porch. I tossed her the keys as I passed, completely ignoring her screeching about my taking liberties with her possessions. I couldn't wait to see her face when she saw the blood-stained interior.

I noted the conspicuous absence of Carlisle and Edward. I knew Alice and Jasper were collecting the truck and dealing with the humans. I could only imagine the things the Major would be doing to them.

I guessed Carlisle and Edward were off having some Father/Son bonding time as he had recently had his Mother/Son time, and Carlisle must be feeling left out. In retrospect, it was a good thing Edward wasn't here. I doubted Rosalie would be amused if he started licking Bella's blood from the upholstery.

I heard footsteps approaching, and Jasper and Alice walked through the door.

"Did you get the truck back alright?" I asked.

"We got it back before Charlie got home, so he's none the wiser," Alice said.

"And you dealt with the other problem?" I said, looking towards Jasper.

"Well actually, that's where Edward and Carlisle are. They are taking care of them as we speak," Alice said.

"After Alice's vision, we had a meeting," Jasper explained. "Edward thought the best solution would be to use the human justice system."

I shot to my feet.

"WHAT THE FUCK, JASPER!" I bellowed.

"I tried to argue but even Alice agreed. It would have the best outcome—"

"YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO HER! YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO HER IF I HADN'T BEEN THERE! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT REPRESSED PRICK DECIDE WHAT THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS? SHE'S _MY_ FUCKING MATE!"

I felt Jasper trying to calm me with his gift, and that made me even more angry.

"Don't fuck with me, Jasper," I warned.

"Peter, calm down." I spun to see Carlisle and Edward standing at the front door. "I understand you are upset," Carlisle continued. "But Edward and I have dealt with Bella's assailants."

"Really, you 'dealt' with them? So they're dead?" I asked, snapping my gaze between Edward and him.

"No, of course not," Edward said condescendingly. "We are not savages like you. We live by the human laws."

"THEY WERE NOT FUCKING HUMAN!" I shouted. "LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO HER!"

I opened my mind and showed him the images that had haunted me, her struggling against her attackers as they pawed at her, her sobbing in my arms, the broken expression on her face as I held her.

"You still think you made the right choice?" I asked him. "You need more evidence? Ask Alice to show you what would have happened had I not got there in time."

He looked to Alice, and I knew she was showing him as his expression became agonized.

"That's enough," Carlisle said sternly.

I snapped to my attention to Carlisle. I had no qualms about challenging him as well.

Edward looked like he was struggling to stand, his face contorted with pain from the images that were forever burned in his mind.

Carlisle looked as if he was about to speak again, but I cut him off. "This is not about you and your shit. This about _my _mate and the animals that were going to rape and kill her. And you." I turned to Jasper. "You knew what I wanted. You knew how I'd feel. But you let them do this anyway."

I needed to get out of here. If I stayed, I would attack someone. I made my way to the door but Jasper cut me off.

"Pete," he said, grabbing my arm.

Wrong fucking move right now.

"Don't, Jasper. I don't want to hear it." I shoved him away from me, and his expression changed from apologetic to shocked.

We had sparred in the past, but this was different, and he knew it. I turned my back on him and made my way out of the door.

As I ran, I felt the prickling of guilt. I had never thought there would be something powerful enough to make me turn on my brother, but Bella was my world.

I felt so betrayed. The Jasper I knew would never have allowed that scum to live. I wished Charlotte was here. She would understand my frustration. She would have killed the fuckers.

When I approached, the house I could see all the windows were dark, and I could hear the heavy snores of her father. I debated for a moment what I should do. As if hearing my thoughts, her bedroom window opened and a soft voice called out. "Peter, are you out there?" I heard her shuffle around and sigh. "Of course he's not."

Before she could close the window, I scaled the tree and called to her. "I'm right here, Kitten."

She yelped and her hand flew to her chest. I could hear her heart racing and I immediately felt guilty for scaring her, especially after the night she'd had.

"I'm sorry," I said.

She shrugged off my apology with a smile. "I didn't think you were going to come," she said, stepping away from the window and gesturing for me to come inside.

She stiffly walked away from the window, allowing me in. She was freshly showered but I could still smell the faint traces of blood.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Sore, but I've cleaned the cuts. They'll heal."

I felt some relief but I was still concerned for her emotional state. She had been through so much and the fact she was still standing was a testament to her strength.

"Are you sure it's okay? Do you want me to take you to see a doctor?"

"Probably, but I'm tired and I just want to sleep. I'll get it checked in the morning. Will you just lay with me for a while?" she asked.

"Of course. Nothing would make me happier."

I leaned back against the headboard, and she curled into my side. She sighed deeply, and I heard her breathing change to a slower rhythm. She had fallen asleep.

I tried to move away from her so I could lay her in the bed, but she gripped my shirt tighter, pulling me back to her.

"Stay," she breathed.

"I will, Kitten," I assured her.

* * *

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, especially those who asked questions. We had a great time coming up with answers for them all. **

**We have a new dedication question for you this time... **

**Bella got her small revenge for Rosalie's dirty looks by bloodying the upholstery in the Bitch-Mobile. What is the best revenge you have ever exacted on someone? Best story gets the next chapter dedicated to them. **

**We had a lot of fun answering the questions from the last lot of reviews so we are going to extend an open invitation for you all to ask what you like. Same rules apply regarding spoilers but anything else is fair game. Ask away. **

* * *

***** THE SUNFLOWER AWARDS *****

**Snarkymuch's story False Hopes has been nominated in the Sunflower Awards. Categories: The Sunflower Award, Best Bella, Best Jasper, Best Angst and Best Drama.**

**Our Beta Stitchcat has been nominated for Best Beta, she deserves it. You have no idea the mess we send to her that comes back as a shiny readable chapter.**

**And one of our pre-readers Gredelina1 has been nominated for best reviewer.**

**Please go vote at: .com**


	12. Chapter 11: Southern Comfort

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lauren1379 for her truly evil revenge story. **

* * *

**Chapter 11 ****—**** Southern Comfort**

**Peter POV**

"Peter!" Jasper hissed outside the window.

I ignored him as I had been doing for the last half hour. I was perfectly content laying here with Bella, and I had no intention of leaving her side to hear him try to explain his betrayal.

"Peter, if you don't come down here, I'm going to call Char and tell her what _really _happened that time we went to Mardi Gras in the fifties," he warned.

Now that was just plain cruel!

I eased myself away from Bella and jumped out of the window, landing directly in front of him.

"What?" I ground out between my teeth.

"I know you're upset but—"

"Upset?" I hissed. "I'm way past upset. I'm fucking livid! How could you, Jasper?"

"If you would shut up for a minute and let me talk, I'd explain," he said irritably.

"Fine," I growled. "But hurry up. My mate is up there, and she's been through a hell of an ordeal. I want to be with her."

"Okay. As you heard before, after Alice had the vision we discussed what to do with the attackers. I knew you would want them killed, and I was set to go do it when Edward started pounding his 'sanctity of human life' shit."

I rolled my eyes. I knew all too well how that would have gone. Esme and Carlisle would have been all over that shit.

"You _know _me, Peter," he said, looking me directly in the eye. "I didn't give a shit what they thought. I was going to kill those men."

"Then what changed your mind?" I asked.

"Alice," he said simply.

Well ain't that fucking grand, his wife yanks his chain, and he switches sides.

"She had another vision," he continued. "A vision of Bella hearing the news of their deaths. It was fucked up, Pete. It would have destroyed her to know they died because of her."

But it wouldn't—" I started, but he interrupted me.

"_I_ know that, _you _know that, but from what Alice saw, Bella would not have seen it that way."

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. "I knew she was unpredictable but this is a whole new level of crazy."

"She's not crazy. She's human," Jasper said.

"I'm not so sure about that," I said ruefully. "Do you know she carries around a copy of _The Bell Jar_?"

"So does Alice. That doesn't mean she's crazy"

I raised an eyebrow. If anyone was crazy around here, it was Alice.

As if reading my thoughts, Jasper punched me on the arm. "Alice is not crazy, neither is Bella. _The Bell Jar _is assigned reading for their English class this semester."

Oh. Well how was I supposed to know that?

_'You could have just asked,' _the voice chimed in.

"Why didn't Alice say something when she gave me the book to read?" I asked.

"Probably to fuck with you," Jasper admitted with a chuckle, but his expression turned serious again. "So are we good?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I should have given you the chance to explain," I admitted.

"Yeah, you should have, but you were running on instinct just trying to protect your mate. Your emotions were out of control."

"Is it always going to feel like this?" I asked desperately. "I'm barely twenty feet away from her, yet it makes me anxious. How am I going to manage when she goes to school?"

"It'll ease off," he assured me. "You've been through a hell of a lot tonight; your instincts are still running on overdrive. The pull will always be there, but it will eventually just become a part of you the same way the thirst is. Alice and I manage perfectly well when we separate for hunting or trips out of town."

"You sure?" I felt like a child asking for reassurance from from his momma. But this mating thing was uncharted territory for me, and Jasper was my only point of reference.

"I promise," he said with a grin. "Trust your Poppa."

He dodged my punch with a laugh. The fucker.

"Speaking of Poppas. Is Dr. C all pissy now? Am I going to need to find a new place to stay?"

"Nah, he gets it. Although you may want to watch out for Rose. She's mighty pissed about the bloodstained seats."

I rolled my eyes. Vampire Barbie could kiss my sparkly ass.

"Carlisle is concerned about Bella's injuries, though. He asked me to tell you to bring her by the hospital later so he can check them out."

"Will do," I said confidently. Although, part of me wondered which Bella I was going to be dealing with in the morning. So far she had kept me guessing with her mood swings.

"Right, I better get back to Alice," he said. "Will you be back by the house later?"

"I don't know. Depends how things go with Bella."

"It'll be fine," he said. "She will be happy to see you."

"Did Alice tell you that?" I asked hopefully.

"No. Apparently Bella's future has gone back to being a little fuzzy."

I wondered what the deal was with that. Alice had seen her clearly last night. Another mystery to rack up in the case of Bella Swan.

"So how do you know she'll be happy to see me?" I asked.

"Well, actually I don't," he admitted. "I was just trying to make you feel better."

"Gee thanks."

"Anytime, brother." He clapped me on the back. "See you later."

I watched his retreating form disappear into the forest, and I looked back to Bella's window. I could hear her moving around restlessly. Her heart was increasing its pace, and she moaned low in her throat.

I shot back through the window and pulled her to my side.

"It's okay, Kitten. It's okay," I soothed.

"Peter," she whimpered, gripping my shirt.

"I'm here, Kitten." I smoothed her hair back and rocked her as she gradually calmed. Her face relaxed back into the soft lines of sleep, but her grip didn't loosen.

Although I now understood why Jasper had let the scum live, part of me wished I had dealt with them when I'd had the chance. The fact that they were still tormenting her in her sleep was abhorrent to me, and again I wished for Jasper's gift to sooth her.

Dawn came and Bella began to stir. I was frozen with anxiety,. How would she react to waking with me lying beside her? I had tried to move away a couple of times in the night, afraid that I was making her too cold, but each time she clung to me as if her life depended on it.

She stretched lazily, opening her eyes and looked directly at me.

"Oh!" She yelped, almost rolling off the bed as she jumped. I caught her arm and pulled her back towards me.

"Morning," I said with a smile, which turned to a look of confusion as she poked my forehead.

"Umm, Bella what are you doing?" I questioned.

"Checking if you're real," she said matter-of-factly, like this was a standard morning practice.

"And what have you decided?"

"Well you feel real," she said, leaning close to me and inhaling. "You smell real too."

She certainly had an interesting take on social graces. I had never been sniffed as much as I had since meeting her.

"Why wouldn't I be real?" I asked.

Jasper may have reassured me somewhat about her reading matter, but that didn't mean she wasn't a little odd.

"Because when you are rescued from a gang of rapists by a vampire who proceeds to tell you you're their mate, it does make you question reality a little."

"True. So am I real?"

"Yep," she said brightly, and leaned back on the headboard. Then she hissed and winced in pain. "Unfortunately that means my scratched-to-fuck back is real, too."

"Yeah, about that, I think we should get you checked out. Carlisle is working today so we can swing by the hospital and see him."

For a moment, she looked like she was going to argue, but then she winced again. "Okay, fine," she huffed. "Take me to see Doctor Fang, but if he asks me to give blood, I'm pulling out the holy water."

I laughed. We needed to have a chat about that stuff. As cute as it would be to see her dousing Carlisle in holy water, he may take offence.

I heard heavy footsteps moving down the hall and an explosion of gastric noise from the bathroom. Her father was awake.

She grimaced, and I attempted to look understanding rather than repulsed.

"I'll just run back to the Cullens' house and get changed," I said. "I'll be back soon and I'll drive you to the hospital."

She nodded her agreement, and I gave her a quick hug and jumped out of the window.

**Bella POV**

I watched as Peter dived out of the window with unnatural grace, and I sighed.

When I had awoken and seen him laying beside me, I was almost sure it'd been a dream. It seemed impossible that he was there, that he had really said those things.

I smiled as I grabbed a towel and went to take a shower. The cuts on my back and elbows were less painful than they had been last night, but they still hurt like hell, and it was probably a good idea to get them checked out.

I made my way into the kitchen and poured myself a coffee. Charlie was sitting at the table reading the paper. The headline was about a missing person in Hoquiam.

"Morning, Charlie," I greeted. "Can you call the school and let them know I won't be in again today?"

"You having 'woman troubles' again?" he asked, edging towards the door. From his expression you'd think we were discussing the best technique for skinning live kittens.

"No, I fell down last night and scraped my back up. I want to get it checked out."

"Oh, right." he said relaxing visibly. "Yeah, I'll call the school. Do you want me to come with you?"

The image of Peter and Charlie sitting in the hospital waiting room together almost made me laugh aloud.

"No, Dad. I'm good."

"Okay, Bells, you take care, call me at the station if you need me," he said, pulling on his jacket.

"Will do," I said distractedly, picking up his discarded newspaper. I heard the cruiser pull out of the drive, and I leaned on the counter and spent a moment looking out the window. Everything was so green. It was such a contrast to Phoenix.

I jumped as I saw a flock of blackbirds go screeching away from the brush. I looked carefully for what could have startled them, but the only thing I saw was another quick flash of white, similar to what I had seen in the forest the other day. It unnerved me not knowing what was out there, but I tried to shrug it off. I am sure I'm just being crazy.

Taking the newspaper, I settled back at the table to read up on the exciting happenings of Forks.

I was halfway through a story about possible sightings of Big Foot in the park when a hand touched the back of my neck, making me jump a foot in the air.

"What the fuck?" I yelped, turning to see an apologetic-looking Peter. "You dick. You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "You ready to go?"

"Yep, I'm all set." I grabbed my jacket and keys and turned to him with a serious look. "Take me to your leader."

"Okay, Peter, I get it. Carlisle is not your leader. Can we please go inside now?" I begged. "I'm tired, I'm sore, and I'm in need of some good drugs."

He had spent the entire twenty minute drive to the hospital lecturing me on 'coven dynamics' — whatever that meant. I had tried to ignore most of it, but the basic point seemed to be that Carlisle was not, nor had ever been, Peter's leader.

He opened the truck door for me and held my hand as we walked into the hospital. It surprised me how comfortable I felt holding his hand. I had shunned physical contact from pretty much everyone since I could remember. But with him, it was different. It felt right.

We approached the main desk, and I checked in with the receptionist. She was gazing at Peter with her mouth open. He was oblivious to her though. He was scanning the waiting room with a look of avid interest. I guessed he hadn't spent a lot of time in hospitals before, unless he was raiding the blood bank of course.

I had a feeling that if we were not in a public setting, she would have whipped her blouse off to gain his attention. It pissed me off to see her ogling him so openly, and I cleared my throat loudly, shoving the clipboard with my completed check-in forms back at her.

"Someone will be with you as soon as they can," she said, giving me an appraising look. "We are very busy though. You may have to wait a while."

Peter opened his mouth — probably to protest — but he was cut off with the arrival of Dr. Cullen.

"That's okay, Sylvia," he said to the receptionist. "Miss Swan has an appointment with me. I'll take her through now."

The receptionist practically swooned as he smiled at her. I wondered if it was a Cullen male trait to dazzle elderly receptionists. First Edward and Miss Cope and now Dr. Cullen and this woman.

He gestured for me to go through the double doors, and I held Peter's hand a little tighter, pulling him along with me. I'm sure Dr. Cullen was a great guy, but I was a little nervous to be alone with any male, other than Peter, at the moment. I'd had nightmares about the attack last night and was still feeling a little jumpy.

Peter squeezed my hand gently and rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. Dr. Cullen gave Peter a pointed look and Peter nodded in return.

Great, silent conversation time.

We went into an examination room, and I slipped off my jacket.

"If you could put this gown on, Bella. It would make it easier for me to access your injuries," Dr. Cullen said.

"Okay, excuse me," I said, stepping back and whipping the curtain closed.

I could hear them whispering to each other — obviously discussing me — so I decided to have a little fun with them.

"Hey, can you guys hear that?" I asked.

The hissing cut off abruptly. "Hear what, Bella?" Peter asked.

"Nothing, it's stopped now," I said as I whipped the curtain open and tried to climb onto the bed. I was having difficulty maneuvering myself in the hospital gown without flashing my ass, but Peter came to my rescue. With one swift movement, he lifted me onto the bed and sat beside me.

Dr. Cullen approached and eased open the gown to examine my back. He glanced up at Peter and they started whispering again.

"Hey there it is again!" I said, and once again the sound cut off. "Did you hear it that time?" I asked innocently.

"No, I'm afraid I missed it," Dr. Cullen said, returning his attention to my back. "These aren't too deep and seem to be healing well on their own. I'm going to give you an antibiotic cream though and apply some fresh dressings."

Dr. Cullen left the room and returned a moment later carrying a handful of supplies. He worked quickly laying them out on a silver tray beside me.

Pushing the gown aside, he gently began tending to my wounds. Whenever I winced, Peter would as well.

"These should heal fairly well. I recommend that you continue to keep them clean and dry"— looking to Peter he continued—"and if any signs of infection should develop, bring her back to see me."

Peter nodded in another secret moment of understanding before Dr. Cullen stepped out of the room. I'd play nice for now, but later I would make them pay for this secret squirrel shit.

I motioned for Peter to turn around so I could I change out of the hospital gown. But when I went to slide the shirt back on, the bandages on my back caught on the hem. I struggled for a moment before sighing heavily.

"Peter, could I get a little help here?" I said, holding the front of my shirt down in an attempt to cover as much as possible.

"Umm...What do you need me to do?" he asked, averting his eyes.

"My shirt is caught. Can you get it free?"

He swiftly freed me, and I hopped off the table, happy to be getting the hell out of there.

"Thanks. So what do you want to do now?" I asked. "Charlie called the school so I have a day of freedom to indulge in."

"What do you want to do? We could go to Port Angeles and..." he trailed off, catching sight of my horror-struck expression.

I was trying to fight the rising panic at the thought of returning to that place, but I wasn't succeeding.

"Shh, Kitten," he soothed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think. We don't have to go there. You're fine." He gently wrapped his arms around me.

My racing heart calmed, and my breathing slowed. I didn't understand why I was so affected by his touch, but I figured it had something to do with the 'mating' thing. I felt a little out of my depth with it all. It was almost as if I had joined a cult without being told the basics before donning the hemp robes and Birkenstocks. I needed to know more about this world that I had found myself launched into.

"How about we just go back to my house and talk," I said. "I've got a lot of questions and it would be best to go somewhere we can't be overheard."

"Questions?" he asked a little nervously. "What kind of questions?"

"Well not to point out the obvious, but you are..." I lowered my voice, "a _vampire _and that brings up a lot of questions."

"Oh right." He exhaled in relief. "Yeah I guess you do."

We made our way to the truck and he helped me in. He looked distinctly nervous as I gunned the engine, and I wondered what had him so tense.

* * *

**Bella has questions and Peter is scared. Mwahaha. **

**Question for the chapter: If you could ask T.O.E Bella or Peter any question what would it be? Best question gets the next chapter dedicated to them. **

* * *

***** THE SUNFLOWER AWARDS *****

**Snarkymuch's story False Hopes has been nominated in the Sunflower Awards. Categories: The Sunflower Award, Best Bella, Best Jasper, Best Angst and Best Drama.**

**Our Beta Stitchcat has been nominated for Best Beta, she deserves it. You have no idea the mess we send to her that comes back as a shiny readable chapter.**

**And one of our pre-readers Gredelina1 has been nominated for best reviewer.**

**Please go vote at: .com**

***** The Avant Garde Awards *****

**Snarkymuch's story has been nominated in the Avant Garde Awards. Categories: The Hall Of Fame, Best Shock Value, Best Must Read, Best Non-Canon Pairing, Best New Author, Best Bella, Best Jasper, **_**and **_**Best Emmett. **

**Please go vote at: .com**


	13. Chapter 12: Food For Thought

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Mssmith not only for her great question, but for her loyal readership and reviewing. We always look forward to reading your reviews. **

* * *

**Chapter 12 ****—**** Food for Thought**

**Peter POV**

She had questions, that was fine, to be expected even, so why did I feel like I was heading to the gallows?

She had been surprisingly accepting of everything I told her last night, but she had been through so much. Her judgment wasn't at its best. How would she react today?

The voice piped up. _'Quit worrying, dip-shit, she'll be fine.' _

"Me and you need to have a serious discussion," I replied.

"Well, duh! Didn't we just agree on that?" Bella asked.

Oh shit! I must have been speaking aloud again.

_'Yep, you were. You need to get a handle on that, you know. She's going to think you're crazy if you keep talking to yourself.'_

"Shut up," I hissed.

"Excuse me!" She looked a little pissed.

"Not you. I was talking to..." How do you explain that there's a voice talking in your head without sounding like a complete fruitcake?

"You were talking to the voices in your head again, weren't you?" she asked with a quirked brow.

"What? No, I was... Okay, yeah. I was talking to the voice in my head. How did you know?"

"You slip into window-licker mode sometimes, and usually, when you snap out of it, you make some random statement. You did it yesterday, too. I figured it was a vampire thing. I've seen Alice and Edward zone out occasionally, so I figured you all do it."

Window-licker mode! Fuck.

"It's not a vampire thing, per se. Edward and Alice both have gifts that tend that make them a little _special_. This voice is a new development for me, and I'm still not too clear on what is going on. It is a snarky fucker, though and takes joy in giving me cryptic bullshit messages."

_'Cryptic bullshit, huh? Fine see how you manage without me!' _the voice announced then fell silent.

Peace at last.

"I guess that's my first question, then," she said, leading me to the couch and pulling me down beside her. "What do you mean _gifted_?"

I hugged her to my side and prepared myself for a rather confusing explanation.

"Well, Alice has visions of the future, but it's flawed. She can only see the current path someone is on. If you change your mind, then the future changes as well."

"Huh, that sounds kinda nifty really," she said thoughtfully. "What about Edward? Does he have visions too?"

"No, Edward is a mind-reader."

Her mouth dropped open and she looked horrified. "He can _read minds_?"

I remembered how pissed I had been when I had been told about his invasive gift, the feeling of being violated. She stunned me when she spoke again.

"If the dick can read minds, why did he keep pestering me? He should have known from my thoughts that I wasn't interested!"

I couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't upset because of his 'mind-fuck' ability, but because he had apparently ignored her thoughts of him and carried on pursuing her. This girl was a constant surprise.

"Actually, Kitten, he can't read your mind," I explained. "For some reason, your thoughts are silent to him. But I don't doubt that he would have continued to annoy you even if he had heard your opinion of him. He can be impressively obtuse when he wants to be."

"No shit." She snorted. "So, do you have a gift?"

Well that was a loaded question. Naturally I was gifted in the pants, but I didn't think it was the right time to impart that bit of knowledge.

"In a way, I do. I sometimes have an early warning system for events. It's not subjective to decisions as Alice's visions are, but it is a bit haphazard. I can't call on it at will the way she can with her visions."

"Early warning how? Is that what the voice is?" she asked.

Huh. I hadn't thought of it that way. It made more sense than my deer-blood-makes-you-crazy theory.

"Maybe." I hedged, unwilling to admit my ignorance. "It's a feeling you can't ignore, almost like déjà vu. It doesn't always work, though, especially where you're concerned."

She looked confused, so I explained the issues I'd had with my gift lately and her ability to render Alice's visions useless.

"So, not only am I a mental mute for Edward, I am also hit and miss for yours and Alice's gifts?" She looked smug. "That's kinda awesome. I don't particularly like the idea of Alice peeking at my future whenever she feels like it. Do any of the other Cullens have gifts?"

"Jasper is an empath. I know he can feel your emotions, but I don't know if he's tried influencing you yet. That's something we should try, actually. It'd be interesting to see if that worked."

"So, other than your gifts, what is the difference between real vampires and Tom Cruise vampires?"

"First things first, Tom Cruise is _not _a vampire. No self-respecting vampire would change someone that short."

"But... Alice?" she asked.

"Yeah, she's the exception that proves the rule. Her sire was clearly a dip-shit. Second: _real _vampires don't drink blood out of wine glasses. That'd be gross — it clots and shit. We drink straight from the source, the jugular being my vein of choice."

"Like that's any better." She rolled her eyes. "Just because you're undead doesn't mean you can't have manners."

I stared at her in astonishment. Yet again it was brought back to me just how special my girl was. She didn't flinch at the mention of drinking from the jugular; instead, she just lectured me on etiquette.

"What about the other stuff?" she asked, pulling me from my musings. "Holy water, crosses, stakes, sunlight, stuff like that?"

"Sunlight makes us glitter like a disco ball, but all the rest is myth."

"Disco ball! Seriously?" She laughed.

"Yep, not remotely masculine, I know. Next time we have a sunny day, I'll show you."

"Is there anything else I should know, other than you turning into Lady Gaga in the sun?"

I looked at her and raised a brow. "Lady Gaga, really?"

"Oh get over it, Peter. Now tell me more. What else should I know?" she said with a look of intense seriousness.

"Well, human food tastes like shit to us, and if for some reason we were to eat it, we would need to hack it back up later. Imagine a cat puking up a hairball, noises and all. There was this one time when Jasper got me to eat a live fish, the smell of the shit coming back up... I got a scale caught—"

I was cut off by the sound of Bella beginning to dry heave. She looked at me and just shook her head, giving me a disgusted look.

_'She is a lady, you know. Didn't you listen when Mama was teaching you how to treat one? Describing puke was a no-no.'_

"Sorry about that. I got carried away," I told her as I took her hand.

"No problem. Just please refrain from describing it again. So, is that all you can do then, sparkle and puke?" She really had a way with words.

"No," I said, affronted. "We can move and run fast. We also have super strength. That's how Edward got to you so fast that day with the van."

I can't believe I just used Edward's example to endorse the vampire race, but I couldn't allow her to go on with only seeing us as sparkly squirrel-munchers whose only superpower was the ability to puke.

She sat and pondered my answers for a moment before looking to me again.

"Okay. That will do for now."

We had spent the afternoon together talking when I heard the sound of a truck pulling up outside the house. I turned to Bella with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that your dad?"

She stood and pulled back the curtain. "Oh crap! It's Billy and Jacob."

"Who?"

"The kid that told me the legends and his perv-tastic father."

"Should I be here?" I asked. We hadn't discussed the possibility of me meeting her father or anyone else yet. There was the obvious issue of the age difference. I was physically twenty four and Bella was only seventeen.

"Probably not," she said. "But maybe if you're here, Billy will pay more attention to you than my tits for a change."

"Your wh—" My question was cut off by rapping on the front door. Bella went to answer it, grabbing a sweater as she went. I moved to stand in the kitchen, so I was hidden from view but still able to observe them.

"Hi, Bella." A gawky-looking boy greeted her with a smile. He was standing behind a wheelchair that seated a middle-aged man.

The kid pushed past her, wheeling the old guy into the hall.

"Come in, why don't you," she said sarcastically.

"Thanks," the boy said happily, oblivious to her annoyance.

"Charlie won't be home for a couple of hours. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, Dad wanted to see if Charlie had any news on the missing person in Hoquiam, and _I _wanted to invite you to a bonfire party Saturday night. A group of us are getting together, and I thought you might like to come."

"That sounds like fun," Bella stated.

What the fuck! Who did this pimply little shit think he was asking _my _mate out? And what the fuck was she doing accepting?

_'Wait,'_ the voice cautioned me.

"Can my boyfriend come?" she asked.

_'See!' _the voice said smugly.

"Boyfriend?" the kid said stupidly.

"Yes, boyfriend. Peter, come out here and meet Billy and Jacob," she called.

I moved out from behind the door with a winning — and extremely toothy — smile.

"Hi, I'm Peter," I greeted them, holding out my hand to shake.

Their reaction was instant and absurd. The kid puffed out his chest attempting to look intimidating, but instead, it made him look like a spineless blowfish. The guy in the wheelchair stared, mouth agape. He looked so vacant I wondered for a moment whether he'd had a stroke.

I put my arms around Bella's waist and nuzzled her neck. She seemed to enjoy that as her heart sped and she drew in a shaky breath. I couldn't help but press my other 'gift' against her. It had been too long since he had seen any action.

I locked eyes with the creeper in the chair and gave him another toothy grin.

He snapped out of his shock-induced silence with a garbled, "Bella!"

"Yes, Billy," she said pleasantly. I could hear the suppressed glee in her voice; she was enjoying fucking with him almost as much as I was.

"Does Charlie know about this!" he barked. "About his... his..." He waved his hands frantically in the air while he searched for the words that were eluding him.

"About his what?" she asked innocently.

"His age," he said, though it was clear my age was not the issue.

"I don't see how that's any of your concern. He's my boyfriend not yours, unless of course you have something you're not sharing."

Billy spluttered incoherently for a moment then fixed Bella with a calculating look. "I am Charlie's friend; it's my job to keep an eye on his daughter and I—"

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off as Bella grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and pushed him out of the front door. She turned and gestured for Jacob to follow.

"I think your dad needs to get home," she said.

"Yeah, I don't feel too good anyway. I think I'm getting a fever," he said, plodding out the door.

"Well that's great," I said. "Coming over here and sharing his germs. The sooner you're ch—"

I was cut off as Bella gripped my neck and pulled my head down to her.

"Shut up," she ordered, then her lips crashed against mine.

_That I can do, _I thought.

I had left Bella's just a few minutes ago, as her father was due home. She thought it would be better if she laid the groundwork for meeting him while I was away, so I had taken the opportunity to have a chat with the voice. The only problem was, it wasn't responding.

"Hello," I said.

There was no response.

It felt insane to be standing in the woods talking to myself, but I was determined to figure this voice thing out. If it was my gift talking, I really should be paying attention to it, even if it was an ass.

"Hello."

Again, there was no response.

"Come on, you usually like talking, especially at inopportune moments. Why not now?"

My pleading was met with another stony silence. Maybe I had imagined it after all.

After some thought, I realized the voice only spoke up when I was planning something it considered to be a bad decision. Maybe I just needed to make a bad choice to coax him out.

I considered for a moment. What had I done in the past that had soon after been deemed stupid by Char. There was the time I volunteered at the Red Cross blood drive to test my control, turns out my control wasn't that good. Or the time I auditioned for American Idol. I didn't get past the first audition; apparently there's not much call for someone who can yodel the national anthem.

Neither of those were going to help me right now though, Forks didn't have a blood drive scheduled, and I had been banned from American Idol auditions after my post-audition striptease.

A truly foul stench assaulted my senses. I had apparently ventured close to the treaty line. Jasper wasn't wrong when described the wolves' scent as wet dog with a side of rotting garbage, but he had missed out the top note of urine.

The reasoning behind this lapse became apparent when I took another step and my foot sank into a quagmire of piss.

_Huh,_ I thought. _This I could work with._

"What do you think?" I asked aloud. "Should I go for a jaunt through the wolves' territory?"

There was absolutely no response from the voice; however, a chipmunk had paused on a branch ten feet up and was watching me with interest.

"Fine, I'm going to do it... I'm going to... I'm going to..." I raised one dripping foot and prepared to take a step over the moat.

_'STOP!' _it bellowed.

"Ha, I knew I could make you talk," I said smugly. "Now I have some questions for you."

_'Yeah, fine. I'll answer them, but first you need to get away from here before the rapidly-approaching wolves arrive and see you standing in their piss.'_

"Wait. Wolves? What wolves?"

_'The wolves that are making their way towards us in five, four, three, two...'_

"Shit!" I hissed. I could hear the pounding of paws approaching. I scaled a tree and perched on a branch fifty feet up. Just in time. Three gargantuan wolves appeared and began sniffing along the line. They were searching for a trace of my presence, but luckily they had no chance of finding one; being scentless had its benefits.

The wolf with the brown coat growled. Something had disturbed him, apparently his own tail. He proceeded to chase the offending appendage until the big black wolf barked at him, making Fido stop in his tracks.

Why the fuck were the Cullens so worried about these guys and their damn treaty? If these morons were the natural predator of vampires, I'd say we were pretty safe. If you got in a fight, all you'd need to do is throw a stick and they'd be thoroughly distracted.

I decided to test my theory. I carefully snapped off a small twig from the branch I was perched on and lobbed it down at them. Like fat kids after a candy bar, they pounced on it.

Yep, the vampire race was safe for now.

_'I'm sure you're having fun and all, but you might want to intercept the Cullens before they get here,' _the voice advised.

What did he mean intercept? I couldn't ask because the wolves would hear if I spoke, but the Cullens were nowhere near here, or were they?

_'Listen.'_

I did. As I focused, I heard the quiet, almost silent, sounds of vampires running. I was unsure what to do. If I moved from this spot, the wolves would hear me, and even with their poor deduction skills, they would realize I was the vampire that almost crossed the line. But if I did not move, they would come and be faced with the dogs without knowing the situation.

_'It's too late now anyway. Here they come,' _the voice said in a defeated tone.

Sure enough, the Cullens came running into view at that moment. The silver-grey wolf snarled and looked as if he was preparing to pounce. The black wolf barked at him and he became still.

"Good evening," Carlisle said pleasantly. "It's nice to meet you at last."

What the fuck? Had he lost his mind? He was addressing the slobbering wolves like they were meeting for tea. That in itself was ludicrous, but unless he was Dr. Dolittle, how were the wolves going to respond?

"We cannot say the same. Why are you here? Which of you crossed the line?" Edward said in an eerie flat tone. It took me a moment to realize that he was vocalizing the thoughts of the wolves.

"I read your mind," Edward said in his usual supercilious voice, evidently answering a question from one of the wolves.

"None of us have crossed the line," Carlisle said. "And as for your second question, we are out for a family hunt."

"Someone has crossed the line," Edward said with more a little more emphasis this time. Judging by the snarl of the black wolf, his thoughts were quite explicit. Edward's face was screwed up in disgust, though it may have been from the smell. I was suffering fifty feet above them. Edward and the others were much closer. They had to be dying all over again down there.

"We just got here. You saw us arrive," Carlisle said. "If one of us crossed the line, you would be able to smell our scent. Is there a scent over the line?" he asked innocently.

I held in a chuckle. He was one sneaky fucker. Of course they wouldn't be able to smell me.

"You liar!" Edward exclaimed glaring at the grey wolf. It snarled back at him, but another bark from the black one cut him off.

"They want me to say they can smell, to use their own words, 'the creepy hot blonde one', meaning Rosalie. But they are lying. They caught sight of someone near the boundary line, but when they got here, whoever it was had gone." He turned his attention back to the wolves. "And I am not going to say that! If you want to talk you will have to phase back, but—" He was cut off as the huge black wolf barked at the others and disappeared, leaving a naked man in his place.

"I was _going_ to say not to phase back before you had some clothes handy." Edward finished with a disapproving look.

The naked guy looked rather pleased with himself. He crossed his arms over his chest as if to accentuate his naked form. Esme looked mildly repulsed and Emmett scoffed.

He introduced himself. "I am Sam Uley, alpha of the pack."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Carlisle Cullen, and this is my family, Esme, Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. We also have a friend staying with us at the moment, but he is out this evening."

"Is this _friend_ the one that has been seen with Bella Swan?" he asked with distaste.

Crap. I'd forgotten about the perve in the wheelchair. He must have filled the dogs in on our little meeting.

_Edward!_ I thought frantically. He stiffened, and I knew he had heard me. I gave him a quick replay of the encounter. His lips twitched when I got to the part about Bella wheeling the old guy out the door and shutting it in his face, but he scowled when I allowed my mind to drift over the events that followed. I _may _have replayed the kiss a few times to ensure he got the message.

"Yes, Peter is our guest and was the one Billy met earlier at Charlie Swan's house," Edward said, succinctly filling the other Cullens in at the same time. He seemed to have gleaned more from my memories than I had seen, as he turned to Carlisle and said, "Their pack is growing. Jacob Black is showing the signs of the change."

Carlisle looked shocked but quickly returned his expression to one of calm.

"According to the original treaty, you were to inform us of pack size and we were to inform you of our presence in the area. We contacted the tribe elders when we moved to Forks. Why did you not tell us about the new pack member then?"

"We weren't aware of the exact wording," Sam said. "Now we know, we will keep you updated on all developments."

"That sounds fair. We will excuse the treaty violation regarding keeping each other informed, and you will excuse the possible breach of the boundary line," he said with evident satisfaction.

"Umm, yeah that sounds fine," Sam said. I had the sneaking suspicion that he had not understood a word of what Carlisle said but was unwilling to admit it.

"Excellent," Carlisle said. "Then we will be on our way."

With a smug smile, the native guy exploded into wolf form, and with a bark at his fellow hounds, they ran off into the forest.

I stayed perched in the tree watching Edward deal with the questions from the others regarding Billy.

"Peter," he called in a tone of annoyance. "You can come down now."

I leaped down from the tree and landed on his shoulders.

"What's up Eddie? The Big Bad Wolf scare ya?"

"No." He growled, shoving me away. "But I think we deserve an explanation as to why you crossed the line."

"I didn't," I said defensively. "I was just going for a walk and happened to find myself at the treaty line. What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

"Alice had a vision," Jasper said with a smile, "of you talking to a chipmunk, and then you disappeared. We were concerned."

"I wasn't talking to a chipmunk. I was talking to..."

"Yes?" Alice prodded.

"Nobody," I said evasively. "I was just walking."

She didn't look convinced, but thankfully she let the subject drop. "Well you disappeared and we were worried. It wasn't like when Bella goes fuzzy on me, it was just black."

"I don't know why. I didn't do anything."

"Well this bears investigation, but we should get away from here before the wolves come back," Carlisle advised.

The others murmured their agreement and started heading back to the house.

"I'll be back soon," I called after them. "I just need to hunt."

"You want us to come with you?" Jasper asked.

"No, I'm good," I reassured him. "I won't be long."

"Okay," he said waving back at me.

I waited until I had seen them all disappear into the trees before I addressed the voice again.

"Right, it's time you and I had that chat."

_'Agreed. Can we move away from here, though? Those wolves fucking stink!'_

"That they do," I agreed, running through the forest. I found myself at the boulder where I had first caught Bella's scent. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I had first seen her when in reality it had only been a few days.

_'True that,' _the voice piped up.

"Okay, fucker, time for some explanations. Who, or what, the fuck are you?"

_'I guess I'm more of a 'what' really. Though I object to being called 'It'. I'm not a homicidal clown. You could give me a name. How about Lil' Pete?'_

I gasped and my eyes shot downwards. Was I talking to my—

_'NO, I'm not your penis, you imbecile. I am your gift.'_

I sat frozen. Why the fuck hadn't I figured this out before? I guess I had never been certain that I actually had a gift. It seemed so vague.

_'I know you've just had a shock and all, but you might want to close your mouth, a bug just flew in,' _the voice advised.

I spat the bug out and drained a passing squirrel to get rid of the taste. That was a mistake; it tasted fucking disgusting.

_'You think it tasted bad, wait until Alice tells Emmett you drank a squirrel. He's going to rip the shit out of you for that._

"Well why didn't you warn me? If you're my gift, shouldn't you be keeping an eye out for stuff like that? And what is Alice doing watching me now, anyway?"

_'Carlisle has her watching you because they are worried about you after your little paddle in the moat of pee. As for warning you, I was going to, but what would be the point? You're like a pre-schooler playing pat-a-cake with the stove; you know you shouldn't, yet you keep doing it anyways.'_

I couldn't form a defense, though I wished I could. This voice was too fucking smug.

_'Haven't I asked you not to call me that? I need a name you know. How about Yoda?'_

"As in all knowing? That's a bit arrogant you know."

_'Actually it was an acronym for **You'll Only Do it Anyway. **It's what I tell myself when you are making a stupid decision and I can't get you to listen.'_

"Very fucking funny," I growled. "So, if you're my gift, why am I just hearing you now? Why didn't you speak up sooner?" Jasper's threat about Mardi Gras was still weighing heavily on my mind.

_'I've been trying to talk to you for decades, ever since you left Maria, in fact, but I could never get you to hear me until now. I think it's because of Bella. She's a real firecracker, you know.' _There was clear admiration in his voice.

"Hell yeah she is," I agreed. "Keeps me on my toes. Though, I never know what she'll say next or how she'll react to me."

_'She's been hurt before. You have to be careful with her,' _he advised.

"Hurt how? You mean the men that attacked her. I already know about that, dumbass."

_'I wasn't talking about them, although they have clearly done some damage. I was referring to her mother, and to a lesser extent, her father.'_

"What about them?" I demanded "What have they done?"

_'I'm not too sure of the detail; you'll have to ask her about them, but I do know that she formed the hard-as-nails exterior for a reason. Did you listen to Edward when he was talking about her before, how 'she keeps to herself'? That doesn't seem to fit with the Bella we have gotten to know.'_

I was embarrassed to admit that I hadn't given much thought to the reasons behind Bella's attitude. I had only been relieved when she softened towards me. The idea that she was using the tough exterior to hide behind worried me, but I had no idea how to ask her about it.

_'Try telling her about yourself first,'_ the voice advised. '_And I asked you to call me Yoda!'_

"Fine, Yoda," I said exasperated. "Though it makes you sound like a 200lb weirdo living in his parents basement talking to his 'friends' online all day."

_Yeah, yeah very funny. Anything else you want to know? I ask because Alice and Jasper are thinking about coming out to see why you are sitting on a boulder talking to a dead squirrel._

"I'm not—"

_'Look down,'_ Yoda advised. I did and saw the pathetic corpse of my snack.

"Oh, yeah I'm good for now then," I said as I buried the squirrel and headed in the direction of the Cullen house. I was eager to get the 'family time' over with so I could get back to my Bella.

* * *

**Thanks to all who read and especially those that reviewed. Of course we have a new question for you...**

**Bella and Peter are going to be revisiting some of Bella's lost childhood moments in the coming chapters and we need help. What is your best childhood memory? Best answer gets the next chapter dedicated to them.**


	14. Chapter 13: Lunch Date

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Huge thanks to Gredelina1, Augustmoon99, and Arrr for pre-reading this chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to mydirt09 for her best childhood memory story. It was frickin' hilarious. **

* * *

**Chapter 13 ****—**** Lunch Date**

**Bella POV**

"You're going to have to go in there eventually, you know," Peter said in an amused tone.

"I know that," I said petulantly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

I decided that I should go into school today, as it was the last day before spring break, but now I sat outside the school I was less than willing to go. I would much rather stay home with Peter again.

"You sure you're too old to enroll? We could say you were held back... a lot," I said hopefully.

"We discussed this," he said patiently. "I am not going to pretend I'm a 'tard just so I can keep you company in school. There's not a lot I wouldn't do for you, Kitten, but high school is one of those things I just can't do."

I pouted then schooled my features into that of calm indifference. When did I become so damn pathetic? I had always laughed at those girls that made their boyfriends their world, but the happy bubble that had encapsulated me since I woke this morning with Peter was making me disgustingly gooey.

I turned my attention to the students milling around the parking lot. The Cullens were congregating around the Volvo. Alice was gazing at us, occasionally drifting off into window-licker mode.

"Alice is giving me those longing looks again. Should I be scared?" I asked.

"Probably." He chuckled. "She has a unique view on friendships. She just wants to get to know you."

"Why?"

"Because you're wonderful."

I shot him a what-the-fuck-ever look, and he chuckled.

"Well, she is Jasper's mate and he is my brother, that makes her kinda my sister-in-law, and I guess she wants to get to know you."

"Well, that sounds like fun," I said sarcastically. Getting the big sister speech from a pint-sized pixie with the ability to rip my throat out. I'd definitely had better days.

"I better go," I said sadly.

"I'll be around, and I'll see you after school," he said, giving me a swift peck on the lips. "Have fun."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled as I pulled my bag over my shoulder. "See you later."

Morning classes had gone well, and I was feeling that the day may actually pass without drama, until lunch, that is.

I was at my locker dropping off my books when I felt a presence behind me. I spun around and saw Mike Newton looking at me appraising. I shrank back against the lockers, trying to give myself some room. I didn't like anyone this close to me, anyone other than Peter that is.

He didn't take the hint and rested his arm against the locker, his face far too close to mine. My heart sped as my anxiety grew.

"Hey, Arizona," he said softly. "What you doing for Spring Break? I'm having a party tomorrow night and you can be the special guest."

_Where you going? We were going to have a party, and you're the special guest. _Lonnie's words echoed in my mind. The walls of the school melted away, and I was back in the alley, only this time there would be no Peter to save me.

I could feel my blood rushing in my ears and my breath was coming in gasps.

I felt someone pulling Mike away and a voice demanding to know what he was doing. The voices were muffled as if I was hearing them underwater. A small, cold hand slipped into mine, and although I knew it was not Peter, I still felt a measure of comfort from the familiar coolness.

"Come on, Bella." I looked up and saw it was Alice. "Let's go get some lunch."

Still feeling shaken I followed her automatically through the cafeteria line and over to the Cullens' table.

Rosalie gave me an appraising look then went back to reading her magazine. Emmett sat beside her, grinning at me with a childish excitement that looked strange coupled with his muscular physique. Edward was staring down at the table. As I sat, he looked up and gave me a weak grin.

Jasper slid into the seat beside Alice and gave me a questioning look. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't a lie. I felt a lot calmer now. I wondered if it was the empath thing Peter told me about or whether Jasper just had the same calm aura as Peter.

"Maybe you should eat something. You look a little pale," Alice said.

"Yeah, but still not as pale as you," I muttered under my breath.

Edward gave me a quizzical look. "Alice is right. You should eat."

"Sure," I said happily. "I will if you will."

The effect of my words was instant. Edward stiffened and looked horrified. Rosalie dropped her magazine and grinned. Emmett was looking from me to Edward as if he was watching a particularly exciting game of tennis.

"Yeah, Edward," Rosalie said smugly. "You should eat, too."

"Fine," Edward said between gritted teeth. "I'll eat but so will you. I know you skipped breakfast this morning. In fact, I think we should _all _eat."

Rosalie's face fell, and I saw Jasper grinning out of the corner of my eye. I decided to give him a break, he had just dealt with Newton for me after all.

"Peter mentioned you're on a special diet, Jasper," I said. "Is there anything on the cafeteria menu that you can eat?"

He flashed me a quick grin. "You know what, Bella. I don't think there is. Not to worry, I had a big breakfast. I'll be okay till dinner. You guys should eat, though," he said, looking around the table.

Emmett shrugged and took a bite out of an apple on his tray. "Hmm, that's not so bad," he said happily.

Rosalie gave Edward a death glare and nibbled on a cookie. Edward seemed to be steeling himself before he took a bite of a sandwich. The look of revulsion on his face was priceless.

With difficulty, I restrained my laughter and settled down to eat lunch with a table of vampires.

_Peter will be pissed he missed this,_ I thought as I gazed out the window. A flash of white caught my eye and I smiled. Apparently he hadn't missed it after all.

I was surprised to see Charlie's cruiser in the drive when I got home. He was early. I brought the truck to a rattling halt and climbed out, slipping on the mud in the process. Fucking typical.

"Hey, Dad," I said as I hung up my jacket.

"Bella, can you come in here please?" he called from the lounge.

"What's up?" I asked as I entered the room and tossed my book bag down on the couch.

"Do you have something you want to tell me, Bella?" he asked, attempting to look stern.

"Ummm... like what?" I had my suspicions about the reason behind this change from his usual chilled demeanor to the nineteenth-century paterfamilias, but I wasn't going to voice them just yet.

"I spoke to Billy today." _And there it is. _"He said you had a man at the house with you yesterday."

I thought Billy had probably embellished the story a little, maybe said he caught Peter and I going at it on the couch. Whatever it was he had told Charlie, I was not going act the obedient daughter for a man I barely knew.

"Yeah I did. His name is Peter, and we're dating," I told him matter-of-factly.

I don't think he expected me to be so forward with my response as he looked gobsmacked for a moment.

"Don't you think you should have asked me? Billy said he looked like he was at least thirty. How much do you know about him? How do you know he's not some serial killer?" he said, pacing the room and running his fingers through his hair anxiously.

When I didn't answer him, he stopped and turned to me. "Well?"

"Well what?" I snapped back. "First, Billy is a creep and why you listen to him is beyond me. Secondly, Peter isn't thirty. He's nineteen. And as for the rest, why do you care what I do? It's not like you ever cared before."

I could tell my words had hit home; hurt flashed over his face and he looked stunned.

"Don't ever say I don't care, Bella," he said quietly. "I will _always _care."

A mirthless laugh erupted from me. "You care? Then why did you let Renee take me? Where were you when she was parading guy after guy through my life? Where were you when the power was shut off and I spent the night alone in the dark, waiting for a drunk Renee to come teetering in?"

All my pent-up emotions came pouring out, and I felt tears pricking at my eyes. My every word cut deeper, but I couldn't stop.

"As far as I'm concerned, you have no right to come into my life and pretend you're a father now, not after leaving me like you did. And as far as things regarding my love life, I can decide what's right for me and you can either accept it or I will leave."

When I looked back up at Charlie, I could see the pain in his eyes, and I immediately felt like shit for attacking him like I had. We both stood silent, seeing each other for the first time.

"I'm sorry. I never meant... I never wanted to let you go. I screwed up," he said, walking over to me and putting his hands on my shoulders. It felt strange having him try to comfort me. It was awkward, but what wasn't between us?

"I'm sorry, too. For you know... not telling you about Peter. Growing up with Renee I always did the parenting. But I meant what I said. I am going to continue to see him."

Charlie took a deep breath. "I trust you. If you like him, then I guess I will just have to get used to the idea. It's just hard. I still picture you as the little girl with ribbons in her hair. It's easy to forget you're all grown up." He leaned down and kissed the top of my head before moving to walk off.

"Oh, I was going to tell you earlier. Billy and Harry invited me down to go fishing this weekend, but if you want I can stay home. Billy's probably not going, anyways. I guess Jacob got some kind of fever."

"No, you should go. Harry will still want to go. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be doing much around here anyway."

"Yeah, I really do want to try out that new lure Billy gave me. Are you sure you'll be all right here alone?" he asked.

"It's not like you're not coming back. It's only a few days. Have fun and tell Harry I said hi."

Charlie left, but not before reminding me that there were still frozen trout left over from his last fishing trip in the freezer if I wanted to cook them for dinner. But after Peter's overly explicit description of vomiting fish, it wasn't something I found appetizing at the moment.

I grabbed my bag and sat on the couch as I dug through it to find something to take my mind off everything that had transpired. I was feeling like crap after talking with Charlie. I didn't like dredging up all those old feelings from my childhood.

I found my sketchbook and pencils. Laying back on the couch, I started drawing. I mindlessly went about making mark after mark on the paper, and without realizing it, I had begun to sketch Peter's face.

I jumped, my eyes popping open when a familiar voice spoke beside my ear, his cool breath tickling my skin.

"How ya doing, Kitten?" he said without moving away. In fact, he nuzzled closer to my neck.

"Better, now that you're here," I whispered. His scent was intoxicating. The only thing I wanted was to be closer to him. I wanted the comfort. I tried to pull him down for a kiss, but instead of responding like a normal man and meeting me, he pulled away.

"What the fuck?" I grumbled. "Get over here and give me a kiss. This day has sucked and I want you to make it better."

"I heard the talk you had with Charlie." My heart immediately sank at the reminder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You apparently heard us. What else is there to say? Renee sucks as a mom and Charlie didn't want me," I said sighing as I scooted over making room for him to sit.

"I'm sorry, Kitten, I don't want to upset you," he said, sitting down beside me. "I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk about it, or anything really. I would be content just sitting and listening to you reading the dictionary."

I couldn't help but laugh. Being with him was so easy. He made everything seem so simple.

"Growing up with Renee, I never got a chance to feel anything other than responsible," I explained. "I didn't get a chance to do anything that a regular girl got to do. You know that I have never been to a fair or even gone on a ride?"

"Really?" Peter asked incredulously.

"Really," I said. "The closest I came to going to a fair was when I got a call from a drunken Renee and her boyfriend Phil. They got kicked out for drinking and called me to come pick them up."

Peter expression was difficult to explain. He almost looked hurt at having learned that tidbit of knowledge.

"Kitten, I need to know. Did any of those _men _she dated... did any of them ever hurt you?"

"God no. Thankfully they were all too consumed with Renee to even notice me for the most part. A few would throw me dirty looks, one particular ass suggested I join him after he was done with Renee. Don't worry though, I took care of him. I told Renee that I heard him discussing his gonorrhea medication with his doctor's office."

"Gonorrhea?" Peter asked.

I shrugged. "It was better than my other ideas. Seemed a little nicer than rectal warts."

Peter looked a cross between disturbed and proud.

He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. "And Charlie?" he asked, burying his face in my hair.

"I don't think he's a bad guy. It's just the only thing I remember clearly about him, was the day Renee came and took me away. He just stood there and watched us drive off before turning to walk back inside. It hurt," I said as I traced a finger up and down his chest. "After that, I guess I just stopped getting close to people."

"Tell you what, Kitten," he said as turned to face me, cupping my cheek in his hand. "I am going to take you out and make up for some of those shitty childhood moments."

"Childhood moments? You want to braid my hair and have tea parties?" I scoffed. "Be serious, Peter."

"I am being serious," he said earnestly. "I'm not really into tea parties and that hair braiding shit, but I'm sure Alice would be happy to help. I was thinking about the other stuff you missed out on. You say you've never been to a fair. I'll take you."

I smiled in spite of myself. It actually sounded like fun.

"What else did you miss out on?" he asked. "Have you ever got a tattoo?"

"No, and that's not really a childhood moment."

"I know that," he said grinning. "I was just trying to find out if you had one."

I laughed. "No, I don't have any tattoos, but maybe sometime I'll get one. Who knows maybe I could get your name across my ass."

I was joking but the look of excitement on his face was adorable. He pulled me onto his lap and I could _feel_ just how much he liked that idea.

"I really like that idea," he said as he pulled me closer to his chest.

"I can tell." I told him as I rocked my hips against him. "Maybe sometime I will have to get that tattoo."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. Kissing Peter was my new favorite pastime. His cool lips were like marble but damn they felt good, and the taste... I needed to find a way to market lollipops with his taste. I'd be a millionaire in no time.

My lips parted and he deepened the kiss. I tried to return the gesture but he pulled away.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying my damnedest not to pout, but it was like having your candy bar taken and being replaced with an apple.

"Teeth, Kitten," he explained.

"Yes, they're lovely. Very straight. I like them." I assured him and leaned forward to continue my assault.

He laughed and held my shoulders to keep me back. "Thanks for the affirmation, but that's not what I meant. My teeth are _very_ sharp. We don't need any accidents."

Before I could respond, I was pulled back to him and his lips were on mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth caressing my own. God I wanted him, but I wasn't ready for more than this, and even though I ached for his touch, I knew we couldn't go any further, at least not yet. I had only just met him. I didn't want to be like Renee, welcoming anyone into my pants after one date.

Peter's hands had begun roaming from their hold on my shoulders, his fingers tracing their way down my collar towards my chest. I shivered at his touch, his cool fingers leaving goosebumps in their wake. His mouth continued to work against mine in a perfect rhythm. I wanted him closer. I needed more of him. I laced my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, moaning into his mouth as he rocked his hips up, causing the friction I so craved.

I was beginning to lose my self-control. I needed to focus. I couldn't let myself be like Renee.

One of Peter's hands slid down and palmed my breast, causing another moan to slip past my lips. His touch and taste was like a drug. He was intoxicating, any longer and I wouldn't be able to stop.

"Peter," I panted, pulling away. "We can't go any further, I'm not ready." I closed my eyes, afraid to look at him. I didn't want to see his disappointment.

I felt a cool hand feather over my face. "Open your eyes," he said softly.

I complied, and what I saw set me at ease. He was smiling and looked perfectly content, although I could still feel him beneath me.

"I don't mind taking things slow."

"How did I get so lucky?" I asked as I leaned back down against him, sliding my hands behind his neck.

"You're wrong. I'm the lucky one," he assured me, pulling me in for another kiss.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, especially those that shared their best memories with us, they were great. **

**We don't have a question for this chapter we thought we'd open the floor to you all again. Anything you want to know about us, anything you want to ask one of the characters, now's the time to ask. As always best question gets the next chapter dedicated to them. **

**Good news! Snarkymuch has posted a new story, it's called Vengeance for Angels and can be found here: www.(/)s/()7072692/1(/)Vengeance_for_Angels. **

**Simaril has also started a new story and once she gets her shit together and stops being such a wimp she will post it on her profile. So keep your eyes peeled. **

**Rest assured that Terms of Engagement still holds our hearts and we have no intention of abandoning it. **

**For those of you that haven't seen it yet we have a new one-shot posted on the profile . It's a a short drabble called Armageddon... kinda. Give it a look. **


	15. Chapter 14: Teenage Kicks

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

***Peeks out from behind the desk as we both wave sheepishly* Hi, surprised you didn't we? Good news, we have officially come off Hiatus! Less good news, we have beta'd this ourselves, which may not be a good thing. You'll have to let us know. **

**We are both thrilled to be back writing this again, and we will be back on a regular update schedule again. Thank you for bearing with us while someone *cough* Snarkymuch *cough* threw a tantrum and someone else *cough* Simaril *cough* decided to see if she could write a novel in 30 days. Good times. Glad to be back, hope you enjoy and continue reading.**

**Special thinks to our pre-readers Arrr, Augustmoon99 and Gredelina1 for sticking with us.**

* * *

**Chapter 14 — Teenage Kicks**

**Bella POV**

"Good morning sunshine," a familiar voice called.

I burrowed deeper under the blankets. "Go away."

I heard a chuckle, and the covers were whipped away from me.

"What the fuck, Peter?" I gasped.

"It's time to get up. We have a day of action planned, and you need to get showered and dressed. Time's a wasting."

"Do you remember what it felt like to sleep?" I asked.

"No, I remember very little of my human life. Why?"

"Because if you remembered, you'd know it was a bad idea to wake me up like that!" I said, throwing a pillow at him.

He dodged it with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, I'm just eager to get the day started. You get dressed, and I'll make you coffee."

I scowled. "That's playing dirty; you know my weakness for caffeine."

"I know all your weaknesses." He grinned, kissing me on the cheek.

I clapped my hand to my mouth, and he looked at me quizzically.

"Morning breath," I explained through my fingers.

"I don't mind," he assured me. "You always smell great to me."

"That's kinda disgusting you know."

He looked thoughtful. "I guess it wasn't one of my better compliments. You go do your human stuff, and I'll get the coffee started."

I stomped to the bathroom, squealing when he flicked my butt with the sheet.

"Hurry up," he commanded, making his way down the stairs.

"Bite me," I mumbled.

"I will," he called from the kitchen. Damn vampire hearing.

Twenty minutes later, I was sitting at the kitchen table as Peter placed a cup of coffee in front of me. It looked like tar.

He'd apparently had a bit of trouble working the coffee maker. There were coffee grinds scattered across the counter and floor. He even had some in his hair.

"Is it good?" he asked eagerly. He looked so pleased with himself that I swallowed my ready remark about using it to waterproof the roof and took a sip instead. It was disgusting.

"It's great," I lied, hiding my grimace. "Really good."

He beamed at me and settled in the chair opposite. "You know I've never made coffee before. It was surprisingly easy."

"Really?" I forced down my chuckle. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"There's a fair in Port Angeles, I thought we could give that a go. It's not in town, it's outside at Fair Park." He hurried to assure me spotting my nervous expression.

I knew I would have to face my fear of returning to the scene sooner or later, but I was voting for later.

"That sounds great," I said with false enthusiasm.

"Excellent. I've borrowed the Volvo; your truck may be a classic and all, but I don't think we'd get there before it closed."

"Fine by me. When am I going to meet The General? You promised me a drive you know and this counts as a date,"

"I'm looking into getting it shipped out here; it's in storage at the moment in Montana. Jasper knows a guy that can get it for me."

"Why is it in storage?" I asked. "That seems like such a waste."

"I didn't want to drive it in Alaska, all that snow."

"Alaska?"

"That's where I was before I came to Forks. Charlotte and I were visiting another coven and things… well suffice to say, I decided to leave early."

I felt a pang of jealousy at the mention of Charlotte. I knew Peter was mine now, but he had spent so many years with her. She owned a piece of him that I could never share.

He seemed to read my expression as he came to my side and embraced me. "There's no need to be jealous."

"I'm not," I lied automatically. Hiding emotion was a habit I had developed many years ago.

"You'll love her," he said. "She's great. Her mate on the other hand… she can be a little unreasonable."

I was sure there was a story behind his evasion and wondered if Alice or Jasper knew what it was. I made a mental note to ask next time I saw them. Another part of his statement caught my attention though.

"Her mate is a woman?"

"Yep. We arrived in Denali, were there five minutes and then Tanya arrived. Just like that they were mated. I decided to come visit Jasper, give them space to enjoy their time together."

Again, I had the feeling he was hiding something. "Will I ever get to meet them?"

"Absolutely, Char can't wait to meet you. We'll have to take a trip up there sometime, or maybe they can come here."

I swigged the last of the rocket fuel strength coffee, and he took my cup to rinse.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep." I grabbed my jacket and we headed out to the car.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do first?" Peter asked.

We had made it to Port Angeles in record time due to Peter's disrespect for traffic laws. I was impressed at the speed he managed in the Volvo, and I couldn't wait to see what he could do in the Charger. We were now standing at the entrance to the fair looking at all the attractions.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of childish excitement as I looked around. There was everything I could think of; rifle ranges, ring toss, food stands, and a huge Ferris wheel.

"Let's go on the Ferris Wheel," I said excitedly. I was confused to see Peter's expression shift to worry.

"I don't know about that, kitten. It doesn't look very safe, and it's awfully high. How about we have a go on The Teacups instead?"

"The Teacups!" I said incredulously. "We may be revisiting missed childhood opportunities, but I am _not _going on the Teacups. Besides, you're a vampire, what could possibly go wrong?"

"I'mafraidofheights," he mumbled looking at his feet.

"What was that?" I asked. "I didn't hear you."

"I said, I'm afraid of heights."

I burst out laughing, but stopped at his hurt expression. Apparently he was serious.

"You're afraid of heights? You're a frickin' vampire. You could probably climb that Ferris Wheel and swan dive off the top without doing yourself a bit of damage."

"Of course I could_, _but why would I _want _to?" he asked.

"But you climb trees and shit. How can you do that if you're scared of heights?"

"I'm fine up a tree, or even on a roof, but they are stable. The Ferris Wheel will be moving and that's freaky."

I couldn't help it, I laughed. It was ridiculous, here was a century old vampire, who could crush the Ferris Wheel to scrap metal with one finger, yet was scared to go on it.

"Well, I can go on my own," I suggested.

"No!" He looked stricken. "It's too dangerous."

I sighed. "Okay fine, what rides are safe for my delicate human self. And don't say Teacups?"

"How about that one?" he said pointing to the Haunted House.

"Fine," I grumbled. "The Haunted House it is."

My surly mood didn't last long as Peter was - for want of a better word - fucking hilarious. When we got to the front of the queue, he made a beeline for the first cart in the train - beating out a pair of fifth graders - and sat grinning like a fool as the ride began.

"I wish Jasper was here," he said sadly. "He is so much fun on these things. We hid inside one once, and he used his gift to scare the shit out of the humans as they went past. He scared one kid so bad that he actually did shit himself. His date wasn't amused, but I was rolling on the floor laughing. Until I caught a whiff."

His excitement wasn't limited to the haunted house either. He practically skipped to the ring toss and made animated conversation with the spotty youth running the stand. I'd initially thought he was hamming it up to help me appreciate the 'lost childhood moments', but as the day wore on I realized that this was just him. He was naturally cheerful, and for a while at least, I was able to shrug off my skepticism and enjoy myself.

We were taking a break from the attractions, sitting on a bench while I ate a funnel cake, when he caught me looking at him.

"What's up, you need another funnel cake?" he asked.

My stomach rolled at the thought of eating anything else. I had already eaten cotton candy, nachos, a corn dog, and a pretzel. I tried to tell him I was full after the second snack, but he seemed so disappointed I acquiesced.

'It's all part of the experience,' he had said. 'It's not like they serve anything here I can eat, I don't think people would be amused if I started snacking on the Carneys.'

Most of the time with Peter I forgot the glaring differences between us, he vampire, me human, but occasionally he would drop in a comment like that and it reminded me of how far apart our worlds were.

"I'm fine," I assured him. "Although, if I eat anything else I may vomit."

His expression shifted to confused. "But Alice said I needed to feed you frequently."

_Feed me frequently_. What was I, a hamster?

I made a mental note to make Alice eat human food next time I saw her. I had been merciful last time, but the comparison to a rodent stung.

"Humans need three meals a day," I explained patiently. It wasn't his fault I was pissed. "And maybe a couple of snacks. I am quite capable of feeding myself when I need to though. I have been doing it most of my life after all."

"Sorry," he said sincerely. "This is all so new to me. I haven't had much contact with humans before, so I asked her for advice."

"That's sweet and all, but how about next time you ask the _human_ what she needs instead of going to the meddling midget."

He grinned. "Will do. So, what next?"

I looked around at the attractions, trying to see something we had not already done - other than the Ferris wheel of course - when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Arizona!"

Mike frickin' Newton. With the exception of Doucheward Cullen, he was the last person I wanted to see.

"Who's that?" Peter asked.

"Mike Newton, a jerk from school."

"Is he the jerk that was harassing you yesterday?"

I quirked a brow, how did he know about that?

"Jasper told me," he explained. "Can I kill him?"

"Jasper?" I teased. "No, he is your brother after all. Plus, he looks like he could hand your ass to you with one arm behind his back."

"He could not!" he exclaimed, affronted. "Besides, I meant the Newton twerp anyway."

"Oh, well in that case... no." He looked disappointed. "We can screw with him a little though."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Follow my lead," I said and led him over to Mike. "Hi Mike, you here alone?" I greeted with false enthusiasm.

"Nah, I'm here with Jessica, but she's in the bathroom. How about you?" He completely ignored Peter standing at my side, which was quite an achievement as Peter was sporting an expression that promised pain in the very near future.

"I'm here with my boyfriend," I said, reaching for his hand. "Peter, this is Mike Newton, the one I told you about."

Mike preened and held his hand out. "Nice to meet you."

Peter shook his hand; I had a suspicion he was gripping a little too tight as Mike's eyes bugged out.

"So, Peter, you're not from around here are you?" Mike asked, sliding his hand into his pocket to avoid further injury.

"No, I'm here visiting with family."

"Peter is Jasper's cousin," I explained.

"Yeah, I can see a resemblance," Mike said. Of course he could see a resemblance, they were both pale and ruggedly handsome.

_Ruggedly handsome! What the fuck. _I was becoming more disgustingly squishy by the day. It was only a matter of time before I was doodling his name on my textbooks and tattooing his name on my ass. No, hang on, we'd already discussed that one.

Fuck my life.

"...that your date?"

Apparently I had zoned out while reflecting on my impending demise into a mindless bimbo. I hoped I hadn't looked like Peter when he was chatting to his 'voice'.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a high pitched squeal. "Mike, I'm over here."

Jessica fucking Stanley.

She came tottering over in her ridiculous heels and Sideshow Bob haircut.

"I thought you were going to meet me at the..." She trailed off catching sight of Peter. Her mouth dropped open, making her look like a codfish.

She quickly rearranged her features into what I guessed was supposed to be a sultry pout. She crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to give herself cleavage. She was fighting a losing battle there, the only thing that would improve her lacking chest was a few rolls of Charmin.

I swallowed my laugh, avoiding eye contact with Peter, who was staring at Jessica as if she was a particularly interesting specimen in a zoo.

"Hi, Jess," I greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm great," she gushed, still eyeing Peter and batting her lashes. "Mike and I decided to come to the fair together, just as friends though. I'm still _very _available."

Mike looked a little stunned by this announcement, but Jessica wasn't paying him the slightest attention. Peter was now examining Mike with a calculating look. Apparently oblivious to Jessica's dubious charms.

"Hey Mike, Bella and I were just going to have a go on the strength test. You want to join us?"

"Sure, how about we make it interesting, make a small wager?"

"Sounds great," Peter said enthusiastically. "How about we start with a hundred and see how it goes."

Mike blanched, I had a feeling he was working out the number of Playboys a hundred dollars would buy.

"You know Peter, not everyone has your passion for high stakes," I said. "How about we make it twenty instead."

"No, a hundred is fine," Mike said hurriedly. "I'm confident in my abilities." He attempted to flex his muscles, but it made him look like he was being tasered.

"Great. Bella enjoys a challenge."

_Bella enjoys a challenge. _What the fuck was Peter getting me into?

He shot me an encouraging look, and I decided to trust his judgment. I hoped he had a plan though, I wasn't in the mood to be shown up by this twerp.

We made our way over to the High Striker stand, and Peter paid the attendant for us both.

Mike took the first go and managed to raise the marker to 'Not Bad'. He handed me the mallet, and I shot Peter a glare. If he fucked up I was going to kick his marble ass.

Steeling myself I took a swing, groaning when the marker reached 'Pathetic'. Mike looked immensely pleased with himself and Peter handed over a roll of bills with a wry smile.

"Well, I guess I overestimated her strength," he said ruefully, looking me over like a lame race horse.

Oh yeah, that marble ass was going to get a serious kicking when we were alone next.

"How about we give her another try," he suggested. "Double or nothing."

I could practically see the dollar signs in Mike's eyes. He clearly thought he had me beat. "Double or nothing? Why not, I could do with a little extra cash for spring break," he said smugly.

Mike took his turn and this time he got the marker to 'Pretty Good'. Grinning he handed me the mallet, and I took a deep breath.

_Come on Bella, don't fuck this up. _

I took my swing and stared astonished as the marker shot up to the top and bells began ringing.

"Way to go, Bella!" Peter cheered.

Mike gaped, staring at the marker as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Peter had a smug smile on his face and a memory came to me: _'We can move and run fast, we also have super strength.' _

That devious bastard, he had it planned the whole time.

"Double or nothing, right?" Peter said, holding out his hand.

"I'm a little short," Mike said quietly. "I've got a hundred, but I'll have to give you the rest once I get to an ATM."

ATM my ass, he was going to have to go begging to his parents to square this debt.

"Hey, look at the time," he exclaimed. "We have to get going, I've got to meet... someone in five minutes. We better get going."

This was clearly news to Jessica. She looked as eager to leave Peter's presence as she would contemplating a root canal.

Mike grabbed her hand and pulled her away grumbling at his loss.

"Do you think he's really her boyfriend?" she asked. "I thought she was a lesbian."

"Who gives a crap, they just cleaned me out. My parents are going to be so mad."

"I guess she must be bisexual," Jessica continued, ignoring his rambling. "I wonder if she'd be interested in sharing, that Peter is a hottie."

I turned to Peter, who was watching them walk away with a satisfied grin. "Awesome, huh?" he said happily.

"Oh yeah, fan-fucking-tastic. Now, I not only have to beat away the boys asking for a date at school, I also have to deal with arm-wrestling challenges too."

"What's the matter, you scared?"

"I'll show you scared," I said seizing his hand. "We're going on the Ferris Wheel."

"No... but... Bella!" I ignored his protests and marched over to the Ferris Wheel.

_I'd show him scared! _I thought with a chuckle. As soon as we reached the top of the ride, I was going to start the fucker swinging.


	16. Chapter 15: Aiding and Abetting

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

**Special thanks to Amy August, Arrr, Gredelia1, DerFlash and NightOwlLady for pre-reading. Also to IamTheAlleyCat for the awesome beta job.**

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Aiding and Abetting **

**Peter POV**

"Kitten, I think you've had enough now," I said tentatively, eyeing her glass as she sat slumped sideways in her chair.

This had all started a few hours ago. We were discussing experiences Bella had missed out on due to her mother's inept attempts at parenting, and she said she'd never been drunk. That was easily remedied, I thought, and we made our way back to her house, stopping at a liquor store on the way. I wasn't sure what she would like, so I bought a selection. That was my first mistake.

She worked her way through the bottles of spirits, taking a sip of each. Her face became more and more disgusted as she went on, until she tried the Jack Daniels. She grinned and filled a tumbler with a shriek. "That's more like it!"

I hadn't taken into account her small stature and the amount of alcohol she had drank during her taste test session. It wasn't until she raised her third glass and spilled most of it down her front that I became worried.

Her fourth and fifth glass had gone down a little smoother, but then she expressed a desire to dance on the coffee table, and my worry turned to outright panic.

She was hammered.

_'No shit, Sherlock. I tried to tell you, but noooo, you were all about the missed experiences. Now she'll get to experience the wonder of alcohol poisoning.'_

Crap! I hadn't thought of that. I took the glass from Bella's hand at a speed that even if she wasn't drunk she would have missed.

"Hey, where'd it go?" she asked bemused. Her expression was adorably befuddled, and I fought the urge to laugh.

She rose to her feet unsteadily and started searching through the kitchen cupboards.

"Umm... Kitten? What are you doing?"

"Looking for my drink," she said as if explaining something very obvious to someone very stupid. "I think we've run out. I bet Charlie has a stash here somewhere, though."

"I think you've had enough; besides, I doubt it's in the spice rack," I said as she was now examining a jar of cinnamon.

"But I'm thirsty."

"Have some water." I handed her a glass.

"I don't want water. I want my drink," she whined.

I was so screwed.

_'Yep. You need help.'_

He was quite right, of course, but I was _not_ going to call the Cullens and admit that I had gotten my mate drunk. I could already imagine Edward's gloating and Carlisle's lectures on the dangers of teen drinking.

I was brought out of my musings by a crash. I spun around to see Bella on the floor, surrounded by saucepans.

"Kitten," I said calmly, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I was hungry," she said.

"So you decided to eat a saucepan?"

"No, dumbass, I wanted eggs, but the saucepans _attacked _me."

"Clearly. Would you like me to deal with them for you?"

"Nah, I'm good. Not hungry anymore. I want to dance," she proclaimed and tottered into the living room.

After poking at the stereo for a few minutes, the sound of _Dexy's Midnight Runners _could be heard.

"Ooh, I love this song," she said ecstatically and began dancing around the room. Lamps and photos were sent flying as she waved her arms around as if attempting to take flight.

I was so fucked.

"Come on, Eileen! I swear, well, he means! Ah, come on, let's take off everything!" she paused in her enthusiastic rendition of the song and eyed me appraisingly.

"Oh, no. No, no, no," I said backing away.

"But the song says so," she said as she crept forward and began unbuttoning my shirt.

I heard a knock at the door, which I decided to ignore. I knew who it was, and there was no way I was inviting them in to witness this fuckery. Unfortunately, they didn't wait for an invite. I cringed as I heard a trilling laugh as the front door clicked open.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Alice chimed as she glided into the room, trailed by an amused looking Jasper.

I was saved from responding, and the ass kicking Jasper would have given me had I said what I wanted, by Bella's delighted shriek.

"Hey, the vampires are here!"

My mate, ladies and gentlemen. Ain't she special?

Alice and Jasper looked at me stunned.

"She knows?" Alice gasped. "Since when?"

"I think she's known for a while, darlin'. She was highly amused at lunch, after all."

"I have _always_ known," Bella said ominously. "I knows these things; I knows everything. I like noses." She proceeded to poke at her own nose as if it was a new discovery. "Everyone needs a nose. If you don't have a nose, you can't smell. I don't want to lose my nose."

I tuned her out as she continued her explanation of the importance of noses.

Alice giggled, and Jasper quirked an eyebrow at me.

"She had never been drunk before," I explained.

"That is not a shock," Jasper said dryly. "Though it doesn't explain how she ended up in this state."

He gestured towards Bella who was now sitting cross-legged on the coffee table, attempting to touch her tongue to her nose. She had fashioned my shirt into what appeared to be a cape. I explained the whole 'missed moments' thing and how it had gone from a trip to the fair to this disaster.

"Only you, Pete. This shit only ever happens to you." Jasper was smiling wryly.

The song on the radio changed to some other god awful party tune. Bella clambered to her feet and was now standing on the table.

"Come on, vampires, dance with me," she commanded.

Apparently, the song came with actions as she began miming the ringing of a bell and skiing. Alice burst into a fit of giggles and joined in. I watched amused until Bella yelled, "SUPERMAN," and with one arm out in front of her, launched herself off the table towards Jasper.

He caught her and quickly handed her off to me. She grinned up at me goofily.

"Hello, lover," she slurred.

"Lover?" Jasper snorted.

I shook my head, dismissing him as I carried Bella over and deposited her onto the couch. Immediately, she erupted into another fit of laughter. I had no idea what she found so fucking amusing about this situation; I sure as hell wasn't having any fun.

I sank down beside her and fended off her wandering hands as she proceeded to list all the reasons I should remain shirtless at all times.

"Hey, Bella, how about we go make you some coffee?" Alice suggested.

"Alice!" she squealed as if seeing her for the first time. "When did you get here?"

"Um, ten minutes ago — we were just dancing together, remember?"

Bella looked confused for a moment then shrugged it off. "I like you, Alice; we are going to be _great _friends."

Alice beamed at her, holding out a hand. Bella took it happily and they went to the kitchen.

"You have no idea how happy Alice was to hear her say that," Jasper said. "She's been trying to get close to Bella for weeks to no avail. Apparently, liquor was the key all along."

"Yeah, it was also the key to her stealing my shirt," I grumbled.

"Suck it up!" he ordered. "You wanted her to open up to you, and she has. That girl is as happy as a pig in shit right now, and it's because of you."

I grinned, feeling oddly proud of myself, until I heard Bella's next words.

"Don't tell him," she said extremely loudly, "but he made coffee for me this morning, and it was fucking disgusting."

Well, shit.

"I drank it anyway," she said happily then her tone became concerned. "Alice, do you think I am revoltingly squishy and gooey? Like a gummy bear that got left on a dashboard? I feel like a gummy bear."

Jasper laughed, but I couldn't see what was so damn funny. I'd made her horrible coffee, and now she thought she was a gummy bear. Maybe she was crazy, after all.

"I don't think I understand," Alice said. "What's a gummy bear?"

"A gummy bear is a… oh, who gives a fuck? The point is I am becoming one! I am sweet and squishy and apparently I smell good, too."

"I still don't understand," Alice said, sounding upset as well.

"I am not this person. I am strong and independent and... other stuff. But _he_ has turned me into this _girl_!" she spat the last word. "I love him! But I don't know how to be a _girl_."

"He doesn't want you to be a _girl_." Alice attempted to put the same disdainful emphasis on the word but failed. "He wants you to be Bella. That is who he loves."

Although I didn't totally agree with Alice's statement that I didn't want a girl — I sure as shit didn't want a guy — I appreciated her reassuring Bella.

"Squishy and sweet and smelly," Bella said randomly.

I decided they'd had quite enough time to bond and entered the kitchen just in time to see Bella's head drop and Alice catch her as she fell asleep on her feet.

Alice was beaming, and if she was capable of tears, I am sure she would have been crying. She placed Bella carefully in my arms and eyed me sternly.

"You hurt her, and I will hurt you."

I nodded fighting back a laugh, because as threats went, Alice wasn't a big one, only five foot, in fact.

I carried her up the stairs and tucked her into bed. I removed the makeshift cape from around her neck, but when I tried to take it from her, she gripped it tightly and tucked it under her chin.

"Peter," she sighed happily.

"Goodnight, Kitten," I whispered then kissed her cheek.

I wanted to curl up at her side for the night, but I could hear from Alice's muttering that she was one step away from coming up here to talk to me.

With a heavy sigh, I plodded down the stairs and joined Alice and Jasper in the living room.

"She okay?" Jasper asked.

"She's sleeping. Now can we get this lecture over with so I can get back to her?"

"Why would we lecture you?" Alice asked innocently. "Bella got drunk; it was funny, but hardly worth lecturing you over. She is behaving like a normal teen for a change. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well, if you aren't going to lecture me, what was all the muttering about? I could hear you chewing Jasper's ear off. What did he do wrong?"

"He didn't do anything. We were just discussing our plans for tomorrow."

There was a little too much excitement in her expression for my comfort. I had the feeling that whatever she had planned for tomorrow I was not going to like.

"We are going to a clearing in the woods," Alice continued. "We use it for baseball, and it's very pretty this time of year."

"Sounds nice. You two enjoy yourselves."

Jasper shot me a small smile. "We were hoping you and Bella would come along, too."

"Nope. Not happening. Bella and I are going to enjoy a quiet day by ourselves."

"That's not fair," Alice whined. "I've hardly had a chance to speak to her at all yet — not when she's sober, anyway. You heard what she said, we are going to be _great _friends."

"She had consumed enough alcohol to floor a linebacker," I said. "If Edward was here, she would have said the same to him."

Her face fell. Jasper shot me an admonishing glare, and I grappled for something to say to fix it. With dawning horror, I realized the only way I was going to fix this was by sacrificing my time with Bella.

"I'm sorry, Alice," I said sincerely. "I didn't mean that. I'm sure Bella genuinely likes you."

"You really think so?" she asked quietly.

"I really think so. So what are we going to do in this clearing? I don't think Bella will be able to play baseball with us."

Her expression shifted to a beaming smile. "Excellent, I knew you'd see sense. I was thinking we could take a..."

That conniving little dwarf. She had totally played me.


	17. Chapter 16: The Morning After

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

**Special thanks to Amy August, Gredelia1, DerFlash and NightOwlLady for pre-reading.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen — The Morning After **

**Bella POV**

I was dragged from sleep by the sound of crashing downstairs.

"Good morning, sunshine!" a tinkling voice said. It sent spikes of pain into my head and made me groan.

"It is not a _good _morning," I said irritably. "There is no such thing. There are only good afternoons and evenings." I lifted my head from the pillow and sniffed cautiously at the air. "What the fuck is that smell?"

"Breakfast, silly!" Alice said brightly. "The boys are cooking for you. Isn't that nice?"

Umm, NO!

The last time Peter attempted anything in the kitchen, it was a disaster, and that was just coffee. As horrible as the idea was, I knew I was going to have to drag my ass out of bed and go down there before the pair of them set my house on fire.

I threw the blankets off and looked down, surprised. "Alice, do you know why I am still dressed?"

"Do you normally sleep naked?" she asked curiously.

All sounds from the kitchen ceased as they awaited my answer.

_Perverts._

"No," I said loudly, ensuring Jasper and Peter heard me. "But I usually wear pyjamas, not jeans and a tank top."

"Well, you kinda passed out, and I guess Peter didn't feel comfortable taking your clothes off."

There was a certain questioning tone to her voice that made me realise she was fishing for information. I ignored it, moving on to the more pressing issue.

"I passed out? What happened?"

"How much do you remember about last night?" she asked.

I scanned my memories, realizing there was a definite deficit in the timeline.

"I remember going to the fair with Peter. We came back..." I searched for the memories but came up blank. There was something about dancing, and I remembered looking for something, but other than that it was a blur.

"You had a _little _too much to drink, and it resulted in some interesting behavior," she said carefully.

_Oh god, what did I do?_

I stared at her pleadingly, hoping I hadn't made too much of an ass of myself. I had dealt with an intoxicated Renee enough times to know just how embarrassing things could get.

"Well you danced on the coffee table, that was fun, and you stole Peter's shirt..."

I had undressed Peter and had no memory of it! Well that sucked.

"Don't worry, it was just the shirt. You wore it as a cape, in fact," Alice continued happily.

Another crash sounded from the kitchen, followed by a muffled curse. I ducked into the bathroom and grabbed some aspirin; my head was pounding.

When I reached the kitchen, I was momentarily frozen as I took in the sight before me. They were both covered in flour, sugar and some gooey substance. They even seemed to have egg yolk in their hair.

Jasper had Peter in a headlock as he battled to get free.

"Let me go!" Peter demanded.

"Not a chance. You already broke the microwave! I'm not letting you near the toaster!"

"Well, you were the one that said it was okay to use foil. You've been playing human for how many years and you still don't know how a microwave works?"

"I play human when I am _with _the humans, you dipshit!" Jasper growled. "It's not like we use a microwave at home!"

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed.

Peter elbowed Jasper, breaking his grip.

"Morning, Kitten." He greeted me with a dazzling smile. "We're making you breakfast."

He held out a plate of congealed grease and half cooked egg.

Just as with the coffee yesterday, he looked so proud of his achievement I didn't have the heart to tell the truth. Instead, I turned on my heel, dashed up the stairs, and proceeded to vomit noisily.

"I told you she wouldn't want egg!" Peter said.

"Alice," I called down the stairs, "have you got a minute?"

In one of those startling blurs of speed, Alice was beside me. "You need help?" she asked sympathetically.

"No, I am quite capable of showering on my own," I explained. "But do you think you can get Laurel and Hardy down there to clean up the kitchen? If Charlie comes home to that mess, he's going to need a double helping of brownies to calm down."

She looked a little bewildered by the mention of brownies, but she hurried down the stairs anyway. A moment later, I heard her ordering them to clean up. Deciding she was quite capable of keeping them from destroying the house for a while, I turned on the shower and stepped into the stream of hot water.

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed and fighting off a hairbrush-wielding Alice. She was eyeing me like a five-year old presented with a new Barbie doll. When she asked where I kept my curling iron, I directed her to the closet and slipped out while her back was turned.

I made my way downstairs, eager to get to the protection of Peter's arms. He may be crap at saving me from over-exuberant teen boys, but hopefully he would be a little better with wannabe beauticians.

I found Jasper and Peter in the lounge watching a news report on a missing person. I sat on the arm of Peter's chair, and he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me.

"Feeling better?" he asked, nuzzling into my neck. I was fairly sure he sniffed me.

"Marginally, nothing aspirin and a day spent lounging about the house won't cure."

Peter took that moment to hide his face against my neck, and Alice smiled. I suspected my plan for a lazy day was about to be rudely interrupted.

"Actually, while you were passed out, we had a chat and made plans for today," Alice said happily.

"You did?"

Peter slowly raised his head and gave me a hopeful smile. "You don't really mind, do you, Kitten?"

This was definitely bad news. He was calling me Kitten and batting his oh-so-perfect lashes...

I shook my head and immediately regretted the action. Apparently my head had been infiltrated by a small gnome with a hammer and penchant for causing pain.

"We're going to have a picnic,"Alice said.

"Did I hit my head? You are still all vampires, right? 'Cause last time I checked, I didn't fit in a picnic basket."

"Let me rephrase. _You _are going to have a picnic and _we_ are coming with you," Alice said. "There is a beautiful spot in the park, and we thought it would would be nice to have some time together."

"_We_ did?" Peter mumbled.

"Yes, we did," Alice said firmly.

Well this was going to interesting.

* * *

"Faster dammit!" I yelled. "They're gaining on us."

With a dizzying rush of speed, Peter charged ahead, leaving Jasper and Alice in our wake.

When they suggested a foot race to the clearing, I'd pointed out the obvious flaw in that plan. Me. But Alice was quick to announce that it would be a piggy back race, which is why I was now clinging onto Peter — and she Jasper — as we raced through the trees.

I hadn't fully understood the speed Peter was talking about until I experienced it. It was the shit.

I was never driving anywhere again. Peter was going to have to carry me around the town like my own personal mule. I wasn't giving up this adrenaline rush for anything.

We burst into the clearing and skidded to a halt. Peter set me down on my feet, and I was just perfecting my victory dance when Alice and Jasper arrived.

"I take it you're feeling better," Jasper said.

"Much. Apparently, the cure for a hangover is racing through the woods at a hundred miles an hour. Who knew?"

I looked around the clearing; it was breathtaking. At the far side was a lake with a small rocky waterfall feeding it. If it wasn't so cold, it would have been a good place for a swim.

Alice rooted through the bag she had brought and spread out a blanket on the grass.

"Thirsty?" Peter asked.

"No," Alice and Jasper said in unison.

"We hunted," Alice added.

I looked quizzically at them. Even Peter seemed taken aback by their response.

"That's good to know, but I was actually talking to Bella," he said, holding up a bottle of soda.

"Yeah, but you—" I started.

_Too late. _

Peter unscrewed the cap, and a fountain of soda shot into the air, dousing him and Jasper both. Alice and I had the good sense to get out of range.

"I was going to say you should wait until it settled before opening it," I said, barely coherent through my laughter. He looked ridiculous with soda dripping down from his hair into his eyes.

"I've got clean clothes for you if you want to clean up in the lake," Alice said.

"Very thoughtful of you, darlin'," Jasper drawled. "Pity you didn't see this coming."

He and Peter made for the lake, pushing and shoving at each other as they ran.

"You saw this, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yep, but I thought they deserved it after the mess they made this morning. And I thought you'd like the view."

I looked over to the pair of them in the lake. It seemed criminal that someone could be that attractive. It really wasn't fair.

Much faster than I would have liked, they were back and flopping down on the blanket beside us.

Alice rummaged through her bag again and produced a small black sketchbook. I watched curiously, not aware that she enjoyed drawing as well.

"You draw?" I asked.

"Yes, but I didn't bring this for me. I brought it for you. I thought you would like to do some sketching."

I reluctantly took the proffered book from her grasp. "Okay," I said slowly.

I scanned the area looking for something to sketch. This was usually a solitary pursuit, and it felt odd to be doing it with an audience.

Jasper must have sensed my discomfort as he shoved Peter's shoulder. "Let's see if I can still kick your ass the way I used to."

Unable to resist the challenge, Peter jumped to his feet and charged at him.

_Now_ I had something to draw.

I waited for them to get into the right position then shouted out, "Hold it! Don't move."

No one could be still like a vampire. They froze perfectly in place. Peter's head was trapped under Jasper's arm, and Peter's hand was reached round as if he was about to pinch Jasper's butt. It was the perfect pose.

Allowing my hands to move of their own accord, I began tracing smooth lines over the paper.

It didn't take me long to finish the picture. When I did, Alice caught my eye and we exchanged a look of understanding. Dropping the pad, I leaned back on my elbows and just enjoyed the view.

The looked like statues. In fact, they didn't even seem to notice I had finished. They remained perfectly frozen in their poses.

"How long can they stay like that?" I asked Alice.

She shrugged. "Indefinitely, I guess, but those two aren't known for their attention span. I'm sure something shiny will distract them soon enough."

I reached into the hamper Alice had brought with her and pulled out a bunch of grapes. I ate a few and then began tossing them at Peter and Jasper in an attempt to break their focus. I caught Peter square in the eye with one and he twitched.

"Ha! I win," Jasper exclaimed dropping his grip on Peter.

"What the fuck?" Peter asked. "I was kicking his ass, Kitten."

"Really? Looked to me like you were just enjoying the hug," I said, unconcerned.

Alice giggled. "Poor Petey. Did someone interrupt huggle time."

Peter scowled at her. "Don't call me Petey, Short Stack."

"Can I call you Petey?" I asked innocently.

Peter grinned evilly. "Sure, as long as you don't mind me calling you Isabella."

I groaned. I hated being called Isabella. The only ones that attempted it were clueless teachers and my parents on the rare occasions they were trying to act like like actual parents.

Peter sank down onto the grass at my side and held out a hand to me. "No more nicknames?"

I shook his hand. "Deal. How about the rest of you, do you have any nicknames?"

Jasper grimaced, and I sensed a story in the making.

"Only Jasper," Alice said cheerily. "I call him Jazz."

I laughed, then realized she was serious. "Jazz? As in self important music?"

"No, silly, as in Jasper. I just shortened it."

Swallowing my laughter. I looked at Jasper and mouthed the words, "tough break."

He nodded and grinned.

The clearing was suddenly cast into gloom as heavy clouds rolled across the sky.

Jasper raised an eyebrow quizzically and looked at Alice. "A storm?"

She shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"I thought you could see weather with your uber gift," Peter said.

"I can't see anything with Bella here. She makes everything fuzzy."

Three pairs of gold eyes snapped to me.

I shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't know what she's talking about. I'm not doing anything." Even if I was, I wouldn't stop it. I liked that Miss Cleo couldn't peek at me whenever she chose.

"This is interesting," Jasper said. He was giving me a strange assessing look. I felt like a prize cow being inspected by a farmer. I half expected him to open my mouth and check my teeth.

"What are you thinking, Jazz?" Alice asked.

I snorted at the use of the dire nickname.

"I'm thinking we should experiment with this a little," he replied.

Experiment my ass. I was a person not a science project.

"You're thinking of Eleazar?" Peter asked.

"Or Carlisle. He is as interested in the phenomena as Eleazar is."

"But Eleazar has the added advantage of his gift."

"But Carlisle is closer."

"But—"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I was finally pushed past my limit. They were all talking about me as if I wasn't here. I didn't even understand half of what they were saying.

Peter looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, Kitten. We are talking about your gift and how we can test it out."

"Gift? What damn gift?"

"You seem to have a partial ability to thwart Alice's visions," Jasper said. "This has never happened before. We think it may be a latent gift."

"You think once she's—"

Peter words were cut off by a clap of thunder. The heavens opened and we were doused with rain.

In seconds I went from being buffed and — if I do say myself — hot, to looking like a drowned rat. Peter looked at me and the corners of his mouth twitched. The fucker was fighting the urge to laugh.

I flipped them the bird and scowled at Peter. "Unless you want your girlfriend to get pneumonia, you should get me home. Humans don't do well in the cold and wet."

He swept me over his shoulder and onto his back.

"C'mon, Kitten, let's get you home."


	18. Chapter 17: Shiny, Happy People

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

**Special thanks Gredelia1 for pre-reading and to IamTheAlleyCat for the awesome beta job.**

* * *

** Chapter Seventeen - Shiny, Happy People  
**

**Peter POV**

While Bella showered, I took advantage of the opportunity to check out her house a little. The downstairs was dull as fuck with no sign of her personality at all. In fact, it was the proverbial bachelor pad. All that was missing was the sexy pinups on the walls and sawdust on the floor. I made my way up the stairs and into her bedroom.

I skimmed through the books on her shelves, but none of them held my interest. I made my way over to her dresser. Piled on the surface were hairbrushes and a dusty jewelry box. I flipped open the lid and found a few tarnished rings and necklaces. Nothing of value. I would have to remedy that. Charlotte always liked it when I bought her jewelry.

I pulled open the top drawer of her dresser and was met with an array of fabric in various prints. I pulled one out and held it up to the light.

_'Put it down, dumbfuck. Put it down before she... Oh, fuck!'_

"Peter, what the fuck are you doing?" a voice demanded behind me.

_'Danger! Danger!'_ Yoda bellowed.

I spun on my heels and looked guiltily into her glower. "I was just looking around."

"Which naturally means fondling my panties."

Panties?

_'What the fuck did you think it was, you imbecile?'_

I dropped the offending garment to the floor. Something about the feeling of mingled mortification and disappointment was familiar to me. It felt a lot like the time I got caught with my hand in my pants by Charlotte and Tanya.

"I'm sorry," I said, eyeing her hopefully.

She shrugged. "You're forgiven. Next time just ask, and I'll give you a pair."

_'Now we're talking.'_

She picked up the panties from the floor and tossed them back in the drawer, slamming it shut with a determined look. "So what do you want to do now?"

"I was thinking maybe we could make a trip to the Cullens' place to see Carlisle."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "You want him to give me a physical? Because I can say with some authority that I'll be fine. I wasn't out in the rain all that long."

I hadn't actually been thinking about that, though now she mentioned it I realized it would be a good idea to have the doc check her out, too. A healthy mate was a happy mate.

"Actually, I was thinking we should see him about your gift."

"My _supposed_ gift," she corrected. "And why would we want to see him?"

"Carlisle is hot on all this gift stuff. He's spent years researching them. He might have an idea of how we can help you."

"Help me what?"

"Develop it, learn to control it." I shrugged. "If you are gifted like we think, the possibilities are endless. For it to present while you're just a human... Well, I've never heard of anything like it."

She gave me a long scrutinizing look. "This matters to you, doesn't it?"

It really did. I loved her for who she was, but I had to admit the idea of her being gifted was intriguing. In truth, I was in awe of my mate. She was already spectacular in my mind, but this gift thing was something else.

"If you don't want to go, we don't have to. But think of the possibilities if you could learn to open your thoughts to the mind fucker."

She grinned evilly. "You mean I could screw with Edward."

"Exactly."

* * *

Rather than risking the rain again, we took the truck to the Cullens' place. It was a sacrifice on my part as I could walk faster than the rust bucket could drive.

"I miss the Charger," I whined as we chugged along the road at a pathetic pace.

"Any news on that?" she asked.

"Yeah, it will be here in a couple of days. Thank fuck."

"Yep, the truck sucks, all right, but it was a gift from Charlie, and I am trying to appreciate it as that."

"Seems a shitty gift to me. He could have bought you a bicycle, and it would have been better."

She snorted. "Yes, but it's the first paternal thing Charlie has done in a long time. You have to give him credit for that."

I wanted to know more about her relationship with her father, but my own instincts—and Yoda—warned against it. Instead, I slumped back in my seat and waited for the journey to be over, directing Bella to the Cullens' driveway.

When we pulled up in front of the house, I realized my mistake. The sound of the engine was probably audible for miles around, especially to vampire ears. They had clearly heard us coming, and apparently they decided to greet us on the porch.

That wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't arranged themselves like they were posing for their Christmas card photo. Carlisle and Esme were at the center—hands intertwined—and the 'kids' were arranged around them. At the rear was a glowering Edward.

"Oh, joy. Red Fraggle is home," Bella muttered.

"Who is Red Fraggle?"

"Technically it's a what," she said.

Yoda presented me with an image of a stuffed felt puppet with shocking orange hair. _'Kinda nice resemblance, right? Our girl is a genius.'_

I had to agree on both counts. Edward really did look like the puppet, and my mate was a frickin' genius.

Bella cut the engine and eyed me curiously. "You're chatting to the voice again, aren't you?"

"No, well, yes, but how did you know?" I had been concentrating on keeping my face animated while my attention was directed elsewhere.

She shrugged. "I can just tell. Now, shall we get on with this, or should we admire them a little more?"

I chortled. "Let's get on with it."

She kicked open the door of the truck and climbed out. I raced to her side of the car and took her hand in my own. She may not show it, but I expected her to be feeling at least some trepidation about going into a houseful of vampires. Then again, she was my mate; she was probably more worried about her proximity to Edward.

Carlisle came forward with a hand extended. "Bella, welcome to our home."

She eyed his hand for a moment and then took it and shook. "Thanks."

"I don't believe you have met my wife, Esme," he said.

Esme stepped forward, looking every inch the vampire momma with her pink twin set and pearls.

Bella seemed to be struggling on the verge of laughter for a moment. Marshaling herself, she smiled innocently. "It's nice to meet you."

Esme beamed at her, and I was sure it was taking all her willpower to stop herself snatching Bella up and hugging her. She was prone to expressions of affection that were not entirely appropriate for the situation.

Emmett was shifting from foot to foot, waiting for someone to introduce him to Bella. Rosalie, on the other hand, looked like she was sucking a wasp. I wondered why she had bothered to greet us at all.

Alice leapt the porch balustrade and looped her arm through Bella's.

_'Because walking would take too long.' _I could hear the scathing note in Yoda's voice.

"This is Emmett and Rosalie," Alice said, gesturing to each in turn.

"You bled all over my upholstery," Rosalie said stonily.

Bella grinned. "I remember." There was no sign of apology in her. She seemed very pleased with herself.

_'Go get 'em, Bella!'_

Emmett snorted a laugh and then attempted to look penitent under Rosalie's glare.

"Shall we go in?" Carlisle asked, breaking the tense moment.

They all filed in after him, and Bella and I brought up the rear. Dropping down onto the immaculate cream couches, they all reprised their poses as if at any moment someone would pull out a camera and start photographing them for Home and Living: Vampire Edition.

"I take this is not merely a social visit," Carlisle said.

Alice had clearly prepped him for our arrival, and he was eager to get to experimenting.

"We were hoping you could help us out with Bella's gift," I said.

"_Supposed_ gift," Bella corrected.

_'She needs to face the fact she is gifted,' _Yoda said dolefully. _'The sooner she does, the sooner we can get to work.'_

Carlisle sat forward and clasped his hands in between his knees. I had a feeling he was itching to go get a notebook and pen to take notes. "Please tell me what you know."

"I can't read her mind!" Edward squawked.

"I can't see her future," Alice chimed in.

"Jasper, can you feel her?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, but—"

"But I'd rather he didn't," Bella deadpanned.

Carlisle looked mortified. "No, I meant your emotions."

"I know, Doc, I was just screwing with you." She looked frustrated at his lack of humor. I knew the feeling. The Cullens were good people, but sometimes their unfailing ability to miss the joke was tiresome.

"I _can_ feel her emotions, but I have never tried influencing them," Jasper said.

"For which I am thankful," Bella said, shooting him a smile. "There are already enough people screwing me over with their 'gifts'."

I hoped she didn't categorize me with those that were screwing with her.

_'Chill the fuck out, dipshit. She's talking about the meddling midget and the mind fucker.'_

Carlisle frowned. "I know it must be difficult for you, but Alice and Edward can't—"

"Can't resist," she finished for him. "I get that. That's why I am here. I'm hoping you can help me learn to control this thing."

Carlisle looked as if he wanted to bust into a happy dance. Which, truth be told, I would have paid good money to see.

"Well," he cleared his throat and tried to look a little more dignified, "you came to the right person. I think it's best that we start with Jasper's gift. If we could test whether he can influence you, we can go from there. If you would seat yourself comfortably, we can begin."

Bella shot me a look that clearly said that if this went wrong she was blaming me.

_'This should be interesting.'_

* * *

**Bella POV**

Blondie seemed pissed by the amount of attention I was receiving, and she disappeared up the stairs.

I sat patiently while Peter, Jasper, and Carlisle fell into discussion of the best way to test out their theory. When they finished, they looked at me and waited for my reaction.

I raised an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight, you want me to stand here and let Jasper shoot his shiny-happy-people mojo at me and see if I can feel it?"

Peter nodded. "Yep, that's about the basic idea anyway, although he's not going to be sending you the happy stuff. It will be easier to read if he uses more intense emotions."

"Intense how?" I asked suspiciously.

"Joy, anger, stuff like that," he said nonchalantly.

"Okay, go ahead," I said, attempting to sound relaxed and interested. Inside, I was nervous as hell.

Jasper smiled and a curious sensation filled my body. I wanted to examine it, but I was distracted by Carlisle. I had never realized just how attractive he was, with that silky blond hair, I wanted to run my fingers through it. Or his toned arms, I wondered if they felt as good as they looked.

I got up from the couch and stepped toward him, compelled to touch him. He looked a little concerned. I wondered why. I wasn't going to hurt him. Unless he asked, of course.

I heard Peter call my name and felt someone grabbing my arm, restraining me. The shock of his skin against mine snapped me out of my daze.

"Jasper, you asshole!" I yelled.

Emmett laughed. "Anger?"

"Well, no. Actually it was lust," Jasper said, looking a little guilty.

"What the hell?" Peter growled. "Why on earth would you make her feel lust for Carlisle?"

"I didn't know who she'd direct it at. I thought it would be you!" Jasper said defensively.

"Well, you were wrong," I said waspishly.

"At least it wasn't Edward," Emmett said, chuckling. "Imagine if Bella had gone all lusty on him, he'd never have gotten over it."

"Hey!" Edward called from the corner.

I grinned at him, and he got to his feet and flounced up the stairs.

"Okay, lust was a bad idea, I see that now, but at least we know I can affect Bella."

I was pissed. I had almost made a total ass of myself by attacking Carlisle, in front of his wife and family, no less. I wanted to make Jasper pay, but I was pretty limited as to what I could do.

"Let's try a different emotion," Carlisle suggested. "Something more subtle."

Jasper leveled me with a stare and, once again, I felt the sensation of foreign emotion flowing into me. It was glee this time; I wanted to giggle and dance. That prick! He seemed determined to make me act like a total ass in front of everyone.

I restrained myself from laughter with difficulty, and Jasper's look became more concentrated. I could feel the pressure he was exuding, yet the more I concentrated on resisting, the easier it became. I focused on ignoring it, forcing it away from me, and the next thing I knew, Jasper was on the floor, giggling like a fool.

We all stared at him stunned. His usual calm, dignified countenance was lost as he rocked back and forth laughing.

"How on Earth did you do that?" he asked between bouts of hysteria.

"How did I do what?" I asked, confused.

He regained control of his laughter and stood, staring at me as if I was an interesting artifact in a museum. "You sent it back to me. I felt your concentration, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor, laughing."

"Oh, I don't know. I was pissed that you were going to make me look like an idiot, so I concentrated on forcing it away."

"That was awesome, Bella," Emmett said with an admiring gaze.

I heard a hiss from upstairs. Rosalie I guessed. "Bite me, Barbie."I called up to her.

Peter and Emmett roared with laughter, and even Carlisle's lips twitched.

"Do you realize what this means?" Alice said excitedly. "If you can learn to control it, I would be able to see your future"

"That's true," Carlisle said looking at me appraisingly. "We would need to study it further, run some tests—"

"Hang on!" I said. I had a mental image of Carlisle strapping me to a chair while he stuck electrodes to my head. "We aren't going to study anything. If I can control this thing, that's great, but I am not going to be some experiment for you to fill the long sleepless nights with. You have a wife for that. Besides, I am a person, not a guinea pig."

Peter came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "We know that, Kitten; nobody is going to make you do anything you don't want to. But it would be interesting to see if you could control it."

"I repeat my earlier statement: I am not a guinea pig. What's with you, people?"

I heard a smug laugh from upstairs. It was Edward this time; he was probably enjoying hearing my irritation for Peter.

_'Fuck off, Cullen,'_ I thought, wishing he could hear my thoughts.

I heard footsteps storming down the stairs and, a moment later, Edward was standing in front of me.

"Do it again!" he commanded.

"Do what? Edward, what is wrong," Carlisle asked, concerned. He had good reason to be; Edward looked a little demented.

"I _heard _her!"

"Are you sure?" Esme asked. "What did she say?"

"She... Well, she...um, she told me to..." He shifted from foot to foot awkwardly.

"I told him to fuck off," I said.

Peter laughed. "Nice, Kitten."

Esme looked shocked. I wondered if anyone had ever dropped the F bomb in her house before. Judging from the shocked look the rest of the family were giving me, no one had. Well, there was a first time for everything.

"You were able to open your mind to Edward," Carlisle said in a tone of wonder. "This is marvelous! I have never seen anything like it in a human before."

"Can you do it again?" Edward asked. "Please." He looked like he was attempting to give me the same puppy eyes that Alice had mastered. He failed epically. He merely looked like he'd had a stroke.

I took pity on him and concentrated on letting him hear my thoughts. _'Fuck off, Cullen.'_

He beamed at me. "It's incredible," he breathed. "I can hear her so clearly."

So he didn't care what he heard as long as I was letting him into my head. That took all the fun out of screwing with him. If he didn't care what he heard, I couldn't taunt him.

On the plus side, I knew I could control when and if he heard me. On the downside, Carlisle was gazing at me as if I was the second coming. I didn't like that one bit.

"Alice, can you see her future now?" Jasper asked.

Alice's expression became vague, and I fought the urge to laugh. She snapped out of it with a pout. "I still can't see," she whined.

I shrugged. "Not my problem. I rather like the fact you can't see me."

"That's not fair!" she whined.

I scoffed. "Life's not fair."

Peter gave serious expression. "I know you don't like the idea, Kitten, but it could come in useful."

"How would knowing what I'm going to eat for breakfast come in handy?" I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. There was no reason I could think of as to why having the psycho psychic charting my future being useful. I led a pretty mundane existence, minus the vampire family I had recently adopted. It just all seemed like overkill to me.

Alice shook her head. "It can tell me so much more than that, Bella. I would be able to predict if something bad was going to happen to you or Peter. I can't read his future well either when you're too close to him. It makes it all blurry."

I looked over at Peter, who was looking at me with a soft expression. "Please, Kitten, for me?"

I couldn't deny him. "Fine," I huffed. "Let's do this, then."

Alice clapped her hands and did a twirl. I had to look away as not to get dizzy.

I pointed over at Peter and mouthed, "You owe me."

He smiled wide and winked. I shook my head and looked by to Alice, who was now bouncing on the balls of her feet, hands clasped together in front of her.

"How do you want to this?" I asked.

Carlisle stepped forward. "I believe the best course of action would be focus similarly to how you did with Edward, open yourself up. Try to focus on allowing Alice in."

I rolled my eyes at his instructions. This all sounded a bit ridiculous. I did as he said, though, and after a moment of concentration, I could feel the veil in my mind lift.

"There, I see it!" Alice shrieked suddenly.

"See what?" Peter asked worriedly.

"Bella. I can see her. She's going to eat dinner tonight."

"Excellent prediction, Alice. I can't say it's lifesaving information, though. I only do that every day."

Alice's brow pinched together, and she tilted her head to the side thoughtfully.

"True. You could have come up with something interesting for me."

I gaped at her. Was she high? How was I supposed to select an interesting vision for her to see?

Peter said her visions followed the path a person was on at that time. My path was heading towards kicking her ass. Why couldn't she see that?

"If you do that, Bella, you are going to break two toes," she said with satisfaction.

I felt the veil in my mind snap back in place. She could suffer with my fuzziness for a while. She deserved it.

"Well, this has been fun and all, but as Alice so rightly predicted, I am going to need to eat dinner soon. You coming home with me, Peter?"

"Actually, Kitten, I was thinking about hanging here a little longer. There is something I want to discuss with Carlisle."

"You don't need to leave at all," Esme said. "We have stocked the kitchen for this purpose. I can make you something."

Every eye in the room snapped to me and held me under their gaze. They looked a little too enthusiastic about watching me eat. As fun as that sounded, I thought I would pass on the opportunity to be a zoo animal for the day.

"Thanks, but I'm good," I said.

They looked disappointed, but no one protested as I got to my feet and headed for the door.

When I got home, the red light was flashing on the answer machine. I called up the message and heard Charlie's voice requesting that I call him back.

Sighing heavily, I dialed the number for his cell phone.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie's voice answered.

"Hey, Charlie, what's up? How's the fishing?"

"Well, that's why I'm calling, sweetheart. I wanted to ask you if you'd mind me staying out here a few days longer than planned."

Sweetheart? Since when did Charlie think we were on such close terms. I couldn't help but wonder if this was a sign of early onset dementia. I decided it might not be best to bring it up yet, but it would be something I would have to keep an eye on.

"That would be fine, Charlie. I survived with Renee all those years; I think I can manage a few more days alone."

"Good, kiddo. Thanks, I appreciate it. Remember there's money in the jar by the stove if you need anything in town."

I looked over at it. It had a whopping five dollars in it. I wasn't sure what he thought I could buy with that. The most that would buy me was a box of tampons.

Charlie and I made our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone. A flash of white through the window caught my eyes, and I smiled to myself. It seemed Peter couldn't wait to be with me after all.

* * *

**AN: Howdy, readers. Simaril shouldn't leave me to write authors notes, but we needed to for this. We are both at a point in this story where we aren't sure if it's worth continuing. We would very much like to hear from you. We have a few more chapters complete and ready to post, but we don't want to keep writing if no one is reading. Thank you, Simaril and Snarkymuch.**


	19. Chapter 18: Stalker See, Stalker Do

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen — Stalker See, Stalker do**

**Peter POV**

I watched Bella's truck chug along the drive and out of sight, and then I turned to Carlisle. "What d'ya think, Doc?"

"I think she is marvelous, Peter. You have found a wonderful woman in your mate, and I am happy for you both."

That was sweet and all but not what I was talking about. My mate was beautiful, smart and obviously gifted. We were a match made in heaven. But my bigger question was about the gift thing. It was cool but also a little worrying. Bella was a human that knew of the vampire world. This was a risk. If the Italian fuckers heard about her, she would be dead before you could say human Slurpee. That wouldn't be a problem much longer as I was going to change her, but that left me with a new problem. The head Italian fucker collected gifts like a fat kid collected cookies. My mate was going to be gifted and glorious as a vampire. We had to keep that under wraps.

"But what do you think of her _gift_?" I asked impatiently.

"It's unlike anything I have ever seen before in human or vampire."

"She rocks," Emmett interjected. "Did you see her knock Jasper on his ass? It was epic. I wished we'd taken photos."

"Hey!" Jasper punched him on the arm. "She did not knock me on my ass."

"Really?" I quirked a brow at him. "You were giggling like a schoolgirl of your own accord, were you?"

"Well, no, but it wasn't like I couldn't have bested her given more time. She's only human after all."

"Precisely," I said. "Can you imagine what she will be capable of once she has been changed?"

"You are going to change her, then?" Carlisle asked.

"Of course. I love her as she is, but what kind of life can she have as a human. They get sick, old, and die. No way. My mate is going to be changed as soon as possible."

"No!" The howl came from the second floor, and we all raised our eyes to see Edward racing down the stairs. "You can't mean that!" he said frantically.

"Not that it's any of your business, Edweird, seeing as she is my mate not yours, but yes, I am going to change her. She deserves better than—"

"She deserves a human life!" His eyes were wild with horror. In truth, he looked a little demented. Not that that was anything new for him. In my opinion, he had always been a little demented. "She deserves children and a husband and a family."

"Well that's sweet and all, Edward, but I would rather she live."

"Cursing her to this endless life isn't living!"

Carlisle frowned. I didn't think Eddie had ever shared this view on his life with his poppa before.

_'Sucks for the Doc.'_

"I didn't know you felt that way, Edward," Carlisle said soberly. "Why have you never told me this before."

"I didn't... I don't... That's not the point!" Edward said. "We are discussing Bella, not me."

"We aren't discussing anything," I said firmly. "You are not part of this, Edward. This is between Bella and me. She has made her feelings on you perfectly clear. Now do us all a favor and fuck off."

He looked from me to Carlisle and then spun on his heel and disappeared out the door.

Carlisle sighed heavily and raked a hand across his face. Esme looked fretfully from him to the door Edward had just exited. It seemed she had a dilemma on her hands, to comfort her mate or to go after the eternal teen in a snit.

_'Sucks for her, too.'_

Yoda wasn't being particularly helpful today. He had been quiet throughout our attempts to test Bella's gift.

_'I wasn't quiet. You just weren't listening. Not like that's anything new for you.'_

Hmm. I wondered what I had missed. I would have to pay more attention to the voice in my head in the future.

_'You might want to get out of here," _Yoda advised. _'Momma Cullen is about to go all momma bear on your ass. You upset her baby.'_

As entertaining as it would be to see Esme trying to read me the riot act, I decided it was time I headed off. I would grab Carlisle later to talk to him about Bella. Now, I wanted to be with her myself.

Esme drew a deep breath, and I was sure my ass reaming was about to follow. I didn't want to be rude by laughing my ass off, so I made my escape. "See you later," I called as I sprinted out of the door,

I ran through the forest to Bella's house. As I got closer, I could hear her heart thudding and the sound of upbeat music. I paused at the kitchen door and watched through the window as she swayed to the music. Her hips were rolling in the most enticing way, making Big Pete come to life. I turned away from her and stared out into the trees thinking of Cletus' foul breath.

_'Dude, that's gross,'_ Yoda whined.

Gross but effective. I couldn't go to my Bella sporting wood. Not after I had promised to respect her desire to take things slow. My girl needed time.

"Hey there, lurker. You coming in, or do you want to stand there watching a little more?" I had been so caught up in my _big_ problem that I hadn't noticed Bella throwing open the door.

_'Kinda embarrassing for a vampire to be caught unaware.'_

I ignored Yoda's jibe and grinned at Bella.

"Well, I was enjoying the view, but I guess I'll come in."

She laughed. "You've been watching long enough, anyway."

I sat down at the small kitchen table and watched as she flitted around the kitchen preparing dinner. Whatever it was she was making, it smelled foul.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" she asked. "Another picnic or are we getting me drunk again?"

I hadn't made any plans, in fact, and I was sure getting her drunk again was a bad idea. Though she had been fun last night...

_'Don't even think about it!' _Yoda squawked. _'We got lucky last night. Let's not risk it again. Suggest a night at home together.'_

That was a nice idea, but I wasn't going to rush Bella into anything she wasn't ready for.

_'Stop thinking with your dick! Watch a movie, cuddle. Chicks love to cuddle.'_

"When's your father due home?" I asked. I didn't want to relinquish my man card and cuddle if her bumbling buffoon of a father was going to arrive midway through.

She looked at me strangely. "Not for a few days. Weren't you listening?"

Oops. Had I been zoning out while I chatted with the voice again?

"I thought you vampires had super hearing," she said.

I merely looked my confusion.

"When Charlie called earlier," she said, speaking slowly as if conversing with someone mentally subpar. "You were listening, weren't you?"

"Kitten, I have no idea what you are talking about."

She sighed heavily. "When Charlie called earlier, I saw you lurking in the trees. If you weren't listening, what were you doing out there."

_'Well shit, this doesn't sound good.'_

Yoda and I were, once again, in perfect agreement.

"I haven't been lurking in the trees. I only just arrived. Whoever you saw, it wasn't me."

Her mouth dropped open. "If it wasn't you, who was it?"

_'Edward fucking Cullen! That fucktard has been creeping around our girl!'_

I forced my voice to sound calm despite my building fury. "Is this the first time you've seen someone watching you?

"No. It happens all the time. I thought it was you."

"No." My voice was a low growl now. I had warned him. I had told him. Bella wanted nothing to do with him, but the fucker was still taking liberties, creeping around like some overzealous stalker.

Her warm hand cupped my cheek. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's time Edward and I had a little chat about basic courtesy."

"Edward! You think he's been the one following me?" She clapped a hand to her forehead. "Of course it was. That creepy fucker. How dare he? Ugh." She kicked at a chair and sent it flying across the room. "Fucker!"

I thought she was continuing her remonstrances about Edward, but she grabbed her foot and hopped over to the recently kicked chair. "Motherfucker!" she hissed.

"What's happened?" I asked.

"I hurt my damn toe," she said, using the 'special' voice again. "I can't even kick a chair without fucking myself up. How am I supposed to kick Cullen's ass?"

I smiled grimly. "You can't, Kitten. But I can."

She looked up at me and an evil smile curved her lips. "Can I watch?"

I considered carefully. As much as I wanted to keep her safe, I knew she would find a way to follow me if I said no.

"Sure, Kitten. Come with me."

* * *

Instead of softening, my rage built as we drew closer to the Cullens' house.

Bella, on the other hand, was having a great time. She dug in her heels and screeched something about silver.

"Come on, Peter, faster," she urged.

I pushed myself to the limit and, a moment later, we burst out of the trees onto Esme's carefully tended lawn.

"Can we go back and do it again?" Bella asked with enthusiasm.

"Maybe later. Right now, I have an ass to kick."

"Oh yeah." She shook her head experimentally. "I think I'm high off the adrenaline rush."

I chuckled and a little of my anger dispersed. Less than a week ago I had met a fierce woman that wanted nothing to do with me. Now she was riding me like a mule and babbling about adrenaline. I had to marvel at the direction my life had taken.

"So, are we getting to the ass kicking now?" she asked.

"Sure thing, Kitten."

I strode up the steps and across the porch. Jasper came out to meet. I saw his back stiffen as he took in my emotional tenor.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"The mindfucker has been stalking my mate," I growled, pushing past him and into the lounge.

Carlisle stood as I entered. "Edward isn't here. He hasn't returned since your... altercation."

"What altercation?" Bella asked.

"Nothing important," I said quickly. "He was just interfering again."

She rolled her eyes. "What else is new?"

She drifted over to the couch and sat beside Alice. I paced the room trying to vent some of my anger. I knew Edward wouldn't be long to get here. Bella had left her house after all. Surely even now he was sniffing the ground, following her scent like a bloodhound.

I was right. After only a few minutes, I heard the sound of Edward's approach.

"Now, Peter, I know you are angry, but let's discuss this calmly," Carlisle said. "We need to hear him out. There may be a good explanation for his behavior."

"Easy for you to say, Doc. It's not your mate he has been sniffing after,"

"He doesn't mean any harm," Esme said. "He's only looking."

"Looking at me," Bella said in a disgusted tone. "It's weird and creepy, not to mention illegal."

At that moment, Edward opened the front door. His face brightened as he caught sight of Bella, and my anger surged. I charged forward, grabbing him by his shirt collar and dragging him into the room. I pinned him against the wall with a hand at his throat.

"What's wrong?" His voice was muffled as he was having trouble drawing breath to speak.

"You've been following Bella around," I said through gritted teeth.

"Like a creeper," Bella supplied with a glower at him.

"I've done nothing of the sort," he said.

"Don't lie to me," I snarled, gripping his throat even tighter.

I heard Esme gasp behind me, but I paid her no mind. It's was his own stupid fault. He deserved whatever he got.

"I swear!" His voice was a whisper.

"Calm down, Pete," Jasper said, reinforcing his words with his gift.

"Stop that!"

"No," he said simply. I could feel the tendrils of his gift seeping into me and dulling my rage. My grip on Edward's throat loosened automatically, and he broke free of my grasp.

Massaging his throat with one hand, he glowered at me. Esme rushed to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"What makes you think Edward has been following Bella?" she asked.

"I saw him," Bella said. "For days now there has been someone creeping around."

"And it was definitely Edward?" Carlisle asked.

She shrugged. "No, but it was definitely a vampire, and he's the only one with a lifetime membership to Stalkers United. But..." She looked thoughtful. "Maybe not."

"What are you thinking, Kitten?"

"I saw someone when I was at school on Friday, and Edward was in the cafeteria with us." She looked at Edward. "I assumed that was you." She looked to me and I shook my head.

"It wasn't me."

"Well, if it wasn't you, and it wasn't Edward, who the hell was it?" she asked. "Do I have _another _vampire stalker?"

Alice giggled, but Jasper looked tense. "If it's not one of us, it means there is someone else in the area. Alice, can you see anything?"

Alice shrugged. "I can't see a thing as Bella is here."

All eyes snapped to Bella, and I gave her a small nod, intimating that it was okay for her to open herself up to Alice. She sighed heavily and apparently did, as Alice's mouth dropped open and she stared into space.

Bella waved a hand in front of her face, and Alice didn't respond. "This is so cool. You guys must have so much fun with her."

We all looked back at her blankly.

"Seriously?" she asked. "You've never fucked with her makeup or shaved off an eyebrow?"

"No, Kitten, I can't say that's occurred to any of us." But from the look on Emmett's face, it wouldn't be long before he tried.

Alice snapped out of her vision with a start. We were all still staring at her and she looked amused by the attention. "There is a coven of three in Seattle at the moment."

"_Uhoh. This doesn't sound good.'_

"You think they are the ones that are following me?" Bella asked.

Carlisle looked pensive. "It seems a possibility."

"Fan-fucking-tastic." She groaned. "Do I have 'stalk me' tattooed on my forehead?"

Alice giggled. "No, silly, but you do smell remarkably good. I'm surprised no one has come after you before."

"Well, thanks for that," Bella said, rolling her eyes. "What are we going to do about my _new _stalker?"

"Well first, we need to ascertain whether or not it is them. We cannot go attacking other covens without cause," Carlisle said.

"You may not be able to, but I sure as shit can," I said. "Jasper, you with me?"

He nodded. "Whatever you need."

"No, Jasper. This is not how we work," Carlisle said. "We cannot attack unless we know they are a threat."

"What are we supposed to do?" he asked. "Leave Bella in the middle of the forest with a sign plastered on her back that says 'free samples'."

I growled low in my throat. They were getting nowhere near my mate.

"I'm going to go right ahead and say no to that," Bella said. "I'm done being a tempting treat. Eddie was bad enough, but these guys will actually take a bite."

"No one is going to put you in danger," Esme said. "Don't worry, sweetheart."

Bella looked at her as if assessing her mental competence. It seemed she wasn't on board with the vampire momma either. I liked that there was something else we had in common.

"We'll head out after dark," I said, planning in my mind. "Alice will you come with us? We need to be able to see where they are."

She nodded. I believed that she would do anything to keep her new friend safe, and I planned to use that to my advantage.

"I said no!" Carlisle said in a firm tone. "We are not going to attack others just because they may be a threat. This is not how our family operates."

Jasper was silent for a long time, and I knew an internal debate was raging inside of him. I hoped his loyalty to me would come out on top.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle. I am grateful for the years we have had with you, and I care deeply for you, but I owe my first loyalty to Peter. If you cannot support us in this, we cannot stay here."

Esme gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth. Bella's eyes snapped from Jasper to Esme as if she was watching a tennis match.

"Carlisle, I think they are right," Edward said. "These people pose a risk to Bella. We cannot allow them to hurt her."

For once Eddie-boy's obsession with my mate came in useful. I knew Carlisle would buckle under Edward's support of my plan. A moment later, I was proved right.

"Very well. If you are determined, we will support you. What is the plan?"

The plan was very simple. We go to the fuckers that were stalking my mate and annihilate them. It was a plan so simple even Edward could follow it.


End file.
